Please Don't Go (I Love You So)
by bowsinherhair
Summary: On a rainy night in Starling, Oliver loses the most important thing in his life, causing him to reflect back on the past year that has built up to this terrifying event. Now, he must ask himself one question: What lengths will he go to in order to find the girl that cannot be found?
1. Prologue

**Author Note: Hello lovely readers! This is my first multi-chapter fic and I would love tons of feedback on your thoughts! I will probably be updating once a week throughout the summer, so look forward to updates! Happy Reading!**

It started as a normal Saturday night.

…

"Hey babe! Are you almost ready? We're supposed to be there at 7:00 and it's frowned upon for the Mayor to be late to these sorts of things, or at least that's what I've been told…" Oliver muttered the last part to himself, allowing his voice to trail off. He spoke from his position by their front door, his voice projecting across the lofty penthouse apartment that overlooked the city. As he stood there, fixing his cufflinks, he heard the telltale sound of heels clicking against their wood floors. He looked up to see Felicity walking towards him in a black floor-length gown, her hair falling down in soft, golden curls that framed her face.

"You look beautiful," He said, his lips forming a small smile, an uncontrollable reaction to the beauty in front of him.

"Thank you," She replied softly, a slight blush staining her cheeks as she instinctively reached up to adjust his bow tie.

"You also look tired," He murmured as he bent down to press a gentle kiss to her lips, forcing her to crane her neck upwards, despite the heels she was wearing.

"Mmm, I suppose I am," She said, keeping her eyes closed, her arms resting against his chest as she took a moment to enjoy the quiet, the stillness, the absence of any demanding entity.

Minutes later and they were on their way to the Starling City Museum of Natural History for a fundraiser. Throughout the car ride, Felicity remained quiet, staring out her window at the city that was overwhelmed by oppressive storm clouds above it, rain falling freely to the pavement with no regard for its victims. Oliver glanced over and was met with her reflection in the window. There was something about the image that unsettled him. Maybe it was just the subdued tones that the window imposed, or the manipulation of the lights as they fluttered across her face, or the streaks of rain that mimicked tears against the image of her face, but for some reason the façade that the reflection presented chilled him. She didn't look like _his_ Felicity, she looked hollowed and worn, and he didn't understand why.

Oliver was about to ask her if something was wrong, but they arrived at the venue before he had the chance. As he pulled the car to a stop, there was a quick shift in the atmosphere. Insistent valets holding umbrellas quickly assaulted the quiet, subtle enigma that had existed between the two of them in the automobile and unrelenting camera flashes demanded their attention as the men behind the devices shouted questions at the Mayor of Starling and his girlfriend.

Oliver ushered Felicity up the steps of the historical landmark, his palm warm and steady on the small of her back where her skin was exposed by a cutout in her gown.

Once inside, they made their rounds through the event, Oliver greeting those he was obligated to greet, striking up political conversation with those who were interested. Oliver had fallen into the role as Mayor quite easily over the past months, and he naturally conversed with the multitudes of people vying for his attention, always appealing to whomever he was speaking. The only subject he didn't waiver on was the Green Arrow, but then again, people were never too quick to intrude on that mysterious piece of his persona.

At some point, Oliver pulled Felicity to the dance floor, insisting that the Mayor was deserving of a dance with his beautiful date.

She was quiet in his arms, resting against his chest as he led them in slow circles to the lazy melody played by the band. Eventually, Oliver pulled back to see her face screwed up in a look of anxious concentration, similar to the complexing features he had seen in the car.

He kissed away the crease between her eyebrows, before leaning down to whisper into her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

"What's going on in that beautiful mind of yours?" He asked, his voice low and intimate, all of his focus centered on the small blonde in his arms.

"I guess I just haven't been sleeping that well lately," She responded. At his concerned look she continued, "Really, Oliver, it's nothing." But, despite the reassurance, her voice was detached from the statement, as if she was trying to brush off whatever was nagging at her, ignoring it's existence and making up an excuse to take its place.

Oliver wanted to believe what she was telling him, he _wanted _to but he couldn't. If he was honest with himself, this behavior had become more and more commonplace over the past two months. There had been a very gradual shift in her… well, everything. Her stature, her manner of interacting with others, her manner of interacting with him, and he had tried to attribute it to whatever weak excuse she gave at the time, because he was afraid of the very real reason why she might be withdrawn and what it would mean for their future, but he couldn't ignore it any longer.

"Well, in that case, what do you say we ditch this thing a little early, take a night to ourselves to catch up on some sleep, hm?" He murmured gently, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"That'd be nice," she responded with a sad smile that didn't quite reach her eyes like he had hoped it would, like she didn't believe it was actually going to happen.

And Oliver thought maybe that was just it. Maybe he had been too busy at the Mayor's office, neglecting her as a result. Maybe she no longer felt like the most important part of his life. Maybe she just needed to be reminded that she _was_ his life, regardless of his occupation or other obligations, Maybe he just needed to remind himself to always make her a priority.

With these thoughts rushing through his head, Oliver kept good on his promise, wanting to prove he would sacrifice whatever he needed to in order to keep her, in order to give her everything she deserved out of their relationship.

They made their rounds back through the crowds, saying their goodbyes as was expected of them.

Oliver led her back down the stairs of the museum that were in the same state of frenzy as when they came. Fortunately, a valet had already pulled his car around front, so they were able to quickly cut through the paparazzi and get in the waiting car.

The city was bright as Oliver drove through the streets, but there was a quiet blanket settling within the car, setting a rhythm similar to the rain that was beating against the pavement, their breaths matching the pace.

_Inhale, Exhale, Inhale, Exhale, Breath, Breath, Breath._

It was odd for Oliver, and he didn't know how to deal with the thickness between them.

"Oliver," Felicity started in a hesitant tone that easily broke through the barrier of silence, piquing his attention. "I umm- there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about…"

Oliver looked over to the girl in the passenger seat. She was staring out the window again, as if she was trying to imprint the pattern that the raindrops were creating on the glass into her memory. He could tell that whatever was going on was serious. Things with them were usually easy, but this felt complicated, and _Oliver didn't understand why._

"Well?" He asked, when she didn't keep talking. He blew out an anxious chuckle before saying "C'mon Felicity, you're making me nervous… What is it?" He asked, his voice breaking at the end, a lump forming in his throat when she finally turned her blue eyes on him, portraying a million emotions in one glance.

"I, well, I haven't been sleeping well lately, and I didn't lie about that, but that's not the only thing that has been going on," She said, while his eyes shifted from the roads that were slick with rain, to her eyes that were glossy with unshed tears. "I've been dealing with some stuff, Oliver, stuff that I thought I had left behind me. I didn't think any of it would ever resurface but- Oliver watch out!"

She screamed the words too late for him to react as another vehicle ran into the driver's side of the car, just behind where he was seated.

It was a surreal moment in time. It felt like slow motion, but it was impossible to move fast enough to prevent anything from happening, so Oliver was just forced to watch it play out in front of him, paralyzed by a lack of time in an instance where everything was moving incredibly slow.

All Oliver could see was Felicity's face, the impact forcing her hair to defy gravity, like a golden halo around her head. He couldn't hear the glass shattering, but he could see it. That is, until his head came into contact with the dashboard, effectively knocking him out.

The next sensation he was aware of was the pulsing sound of sirens moving closer and closer to his location. As he blinked his eyes open in the wrecked car, he turned to see the door of the passenger side pried open to expose the outside world. He couldn't comprehend why this was odd, until a realization came crashing down on him, one that chilled his soul and his bones, eliciting a visceral reaction, his mouth going dry and the blood draining from his face, all for one reason.

_Felicity was gone._

…

It started as a normal Saturday night. It ended as a haunting nightmare.


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: Here's the first chapter! Just to give you guys some insight into my intentions for this story, I plan for it to be pretty flashback heavy. While the more high-action events will be happening in the present, they will also be happening at a pretty slow pace. The flashbacks occurring originally are about a year in the past, but that gap will begin to close as the story professes. I currently am choosing to denote flashbacks with italics, but if you feel there is a better way for me to do this, please let me know and I can make some changes! Enjoy and please please please review! Thanks for reading you lovely people! **

"Mr. Mayor, you _need _to calm down, I promise we'll take care of you but you have to cooperate."

The young EMT is speaking frantically by the wounded man's side as he attempts to force a dazed and confused Oliver Queen onto a stretcher but, unfortunately for him, Oliver is much stronger and much more determined, easily breaking free from the man and scrambling out of the ambulance, lacking his usual finesse. He only makes it a few feet before coming face to face with a concerned looking Quentin Lance.

"Whoa there kid, why don't you just take it easy for a minute," Quentin says softly, as if he is speaking to a skittish animal.

"No time," Oliver replies quietly at first, before repeating the statement a bit more intensely, "There's no time."

His eyes are shifting around the expansive scenery while he runs a hand through his hair. He is trying to memorize the scene, cataloguing the details for later reference. The deformed mass of metal that had once been his car, the passenger side door that has been all but ripped from its hinges, the absence of the vehicle that inflicted an intimidating amount of damage on the small sports car, and most importantly, the absence of a certain small blonde.

Seeing his internal turmoil, Quentin's face softens in sympathy for the injured man.

"Can you tell me anything about what happened?" The detective asks, clearly acting as a friend and not a government official.

"I-I don't even know," Oliver tells the man desperately, tears coming to his eyes but refusing to spill over. "One second I was driving and Feli… _she_ was talking and she screamed and the car hit us. I hit my head, and when I woke up, the car was gone and so was she."

Oliver inhales deeply, the words a heavy burden to release, while Quentin processes the information.

"I need to _go_, Quentin," Oliver says, his voice taking on a deep, gruff tone that is a stark contrast to the shaky, vulnerable entity it had been just seconds ago.

Quentin opens his mouth, about to object on account of the bloodied state of the man before him, but then he thinks better of himself, opting for a small nod of agreement. He watches as Oliver Queen, a man he knows to be much more than just the Mayor of Starling, walks through the rain and into the depths of the city.

"Hey Oliver!" he shouts, before he is out of reach, causing the man to freeze with his back to the detective. "We'll do everything _we_ can, on our side I mean. Nobody in this city wants to see anything bad happen to that girl."

There is a beat where it seems the Oliver didn't hear him, but then Quentin registers a small nod from the silhouette in the distance, accompanied by a muted "Thank you", before the man disappears into an alleyway. Once Oliver is out of the sight of suspicious onlookers, his first move is to call Diggle, informing him rapidly of what had happened, agreeing to meet him at the arrow cave as soon as possible.

…

_There was a night about three months after they had returned from Lian Yu when things began to shift between them. _

_The Team had taken a bit of a break after locking away Slade. With a compromised base of operations and no funds to buy equipment for Oliver's 'secondary lair', they didn't really have the means to aggressively pursue the vigilante lifestyle. On top of that, the majority of their time was spent working to recover Oliver's position at Queen Consolidated, which was deteriorating in value before their eyes. With such limited circumstances, they had been forced to put crime fighting on the back burner until they had a significant alteration in circumstances._

_Two weeks earlier, they had received the miracle that they were in need of. A generous, anonymous donor had deposited a considerable amount of cash into Oliver's bank account. Oliver had a hypothesis that said donor was a certain British step-father attempting to take care of the Queen children, while still keeping his distance. Regardless, Oliver was eternally grateful for the opportunity to get back to saving the city. _

_With a sudden influx of cash, the Team had spent the past couple of days renovating their new lair, updating it to be even better than the last._

_It was for this reason that Oliver and Felicity were alone on that Wednesday night. Diggle had offered to join them, but Oliver had insisted that he take the night to spend some time with Lyla. After all, they didn't exactly need him for computer rewiring and arrow sharpening._

_With just the two of them, it was quiet, each working silently on their perspective tasks. Since the island, Oliver had become much more attuned to felicity, slowly realizing that his false confession of love may not have been that far from the truth. At some point, Oliver looked over to see Felicity standing in the middle of the floor, her hands on her hips and a troubled, calculating look on her face. He walked over from his position on the other side of the lair, moving to stand beside her._

_"__Do you think the computer bank should go against this wall? Or over there, more towards the corner?" She asked, turning to face him. She continued talking animatedly about the pros and cons of putting the computers against one wall versus the other._

_To be honest, Oliver still doesn't really understand what prompted him that night. Maybe it was her complete unawareness or the small smile on his face, a result of her adorable babbling, her cheeks slightly flushed with excitement. Maybe it was the dim lighting of the basement that seemed to create a false, comfortable universe outside of reality. Maybe it was the years that had built their history, each one whispering that this moment was significant. No, Oliver didn't know what exactly it was, but before he knew what he was doing, his lips were pressed against hers, effectively cutting off her mid-sentence. He brought his had to her waist to gently pull her closer to him, eliciting a small hum from the blonde. The impact of his lips against hers surprised Felicity, but not as much as it surprised Oliver. In those brief seconds that they moved together, he was opened to everything that is bright and pure and good. In those seconds, he suddenly understood that she is an entire galaxy of cosmos and space, all condensed into one soul. In those seconds, he learned that he would never be able to go back, responding to her like an addict, knowing he will always want more. _

_She was the one to break away, putting space between them, making him feel hollow with her absence._

_"__Why'd you do that?" she asked softly, her voice echoing in the cement space. Her eyes were looking down at her feet as she swiped a hand across her lips. He racked his mind for some way to explain himself, but he came up discouragingly short._

_"__I don't know," he stuttered out, still overwhelmed by the kiss._

_He makes a lot of mistakes that night, the most prominent one being allowing her to leave before he tells her everything he has wanted to since they met. He realizes, while standing alone in the lair, that yes, he has made a lot of mistakes._

_He also realizes that kissing Felicity Smoak will never be one of them._

_…_

Oliver rushes down the stairs of the lair, relieved to see that Diggle is already at work on the computers.

"Anything?" He asks harshly as Oliver moves over to the glass case where his hood resides, prepared to change into his leathers.

"Digg, talk to me," Oliver says urgently when the man doesn't respond.

"There's no trace," Diggle mumbles, standing frozen in front of the computer bank, his eyes roaming between the screens, his fists clenching and unclenching while he searches for the piece in the puzzle that he is missing.

"What?" Oliver asks, bewildered by the statement.

"There's. No. Trace, Oliver." Diggle repeats, just as Oliver turns to witness the man slam an open palm against the metal table before hunching over to lean against it.

"What does that even _mean_, Digg?" Oliver questions, his short temper becoming evident in his tone.

"I can't find…_ anything._ There's no street camera footage, the police records have been scrubbed, and there are no witness reports. Nothing. I mean, we don't even know what type of car it was, we-we're blind to the circumstances. We have nothing, Oliver."

The only thing to follow Diggle's declaration is haunting silence. The two men turn to face each other, both of them eager to find a solution but unsure of how to go about it.

"Oliver?" Digg finally asks hesitantly. "You know what this means, right?"

Oliver knows. He knows that it means they are dealing with professionals. He knows that it means there is intention behind her being taken, it is not just some twist of fate, it was planned. He also knows that whoever has her will either keep her around for a long time as some type of leverage, _or_ they will choose to… not have such thoughtful consideration for her life. He also knows that it means every second is valuable, and they cannot afford to waste time.

"It means we need to _find_ her Digg"

…

_"__Any word from Felicity?" Diggle asked Oliver, after the third day of her absence from the lair._

_"__It's not like her to drop off the radar like this."_

_"__No, but I'm sure she's fine…" Oliver muttered as he moved off of the brand new sparring mats to grab a water bottle, purposefully avoiding Diggle's judgmental gaze._

_He was about to raise a new topic of whether or not they were ready to get back to patrolling soon, when he heard footsteps on the stairs leading down into the basement. Oliver turned defensively toward the sound, prepared for an invader._

_Ironically, it was the approach of a familiar, harmless blonde that set him more on edge than any intruder could have._

_She rushed down the last few steps, clumsily walking over towards where the rest of her team had been working out._

_When she finally looked up to see them both staring at her, she froze like a deer in headlights._

_"__Oh," she let out, although it was more of a squeak than an exclamation. "Hi, wow, this is awkward, I wasn't really expecting you guys to both be here. Which, I mean, was probably stupid of me, since you both practically live down here. In fact, one of you literally lives down here so I really shouldn't have been expecting it to be vacant." Her eyes shifted between her partners, both of them remaining silent. Diggle met her with a questioning glare, while Oliver was avoiding making eye contact completely. In fact, he even looked a little… embarrassed? Well, at least that made two of them. When neither one spoke up, she figured it was her turn to explain herself._

_"__Look, I know I totally disappeared for a moment there, but I'm back now. In fact, I sort of had an epiphany while I was… away. I was driving through the city yesterday and it just sort of hit me. Starling City doesn't have a Mayor."_

_The two men continued to stare at her in confusion, clearly not nearly as impressed by the realization as she had been._

"_You guys," she tried again, "Starling City _doesn't have a Mayor." _Still, her repetition seemed to have little impact._

"_Okay…?" Diggle replied, failing to grasp the significance._

_"__Gahh," she let out, frustrated as she moved over to the computer bank that had miraculously been set up in one of the two locations she had proposed the other night. She quickly worked to pull up the most noteworthy candidates for the election that would be taking place in two months before explaining her train of thought._

_"__We've been working relentlessly to get Oliver back into his position at Queen Consolidated but, and Oliver I mean this in the most sensitive way possible, it really is a lost cause after the internal damage that Isabel inflicted and, even if we were able to get the board to reinstate you as CEO, the company would only last a couple more months before needing to declare bankruptcy. So, you don't have a job and Starling doesn't have a Mayor." When she only received a blatant silence from behind her, she turned around to see two stern looking men with their arms crossed in front of their chests._

_"__Oliver," She said, locking her blue eyes insistently on his, the first time either of them had really allowed for eye contact since he had kissed her, opening an intimacy not fit for the moment, "I think you should run for Mayor."_

_At her words, Oliver blew out a chuckle, breaking their eye contact and the connection it brought forth. It infuriated Felicity._

_"__I'm serious Oliver, think about it." She said, moving to invade his personal space, easily drawing his attention. "Think about the real impact that you could have on this city with access to a position of power like that."_

_"__She has a point," Diggle interceded, relieving Felicity of the burden of being alone in her opinion. "This city needs someone who has its best interest in mind and I can't think of anyone that holds that priority higher than you do. It would give you a platform to carry the mission of the Green Arrow over into the daytime, without anyone knowing about it. Like saving the city from the inside."_

_Oliver looked between the two of them unsure of what to say, but it was the hopeful look in Felicity's eyes, the idea that she saw him as capable of succeeding at such an incredible task that allowed him to formulate his response._

_He let out a hefty sigh before responding, "Let's say I do run for Mayor, I need the two of you behind me the whole way. But that would also mean keeping up appearances and remaining in roles that you're both clearly overqualified for. Are you prepared for that?" It was clear that the question was directed towards both of his confidantes, but his eyes were specifically focused on Felicity, as if she was the one stipulation that would keep him from proceeding with the plan, which wasn't all that far from the truth after everything that had transpired between them the other night._

_He watched as Felicity nodded with a small, sad smile on her face._

_"__Why else would we be here?" She asked, giving a shrug that excused any guilt he felt over what he was asking of them. _

_"__You're not alone in this, remember?"_

_…_

"Let me get this straight," Diggle says as the two men stand tensely facing each other. "You passed out, and when you woke up you were completely alone? No car and no Felicity?"

"Yes," Oliver says, running a hand over his face, holding back the pit of frustration that had long ago settled in the bottom of his stomach.

"And you don't remember anything from before the crash?" Digg implores in a disbelieving manner.

"No, Digg, it all became a little fuzzy after my skull was rammed into a dashboard," Oliver bites out before his face softens in apology. "Look all I remember is Felicity was talking about… something and then she yelled for me to watch out right as someone ran into us. I didn't even see the car."

"Okay, okay," Digg mumbles in understanding.

"We're wasting time," Oliver replies as he begins to pace across the floor in agitation.

"Look, we obviously don't have enough knowledge to make progress here." Digg says, looking intently at the other man. "I think it would be wisest for us to reach out to other… _sources_ at this point."

Oliver simple nods his agreement.

"How about I work with Lyla to contact ARGUS and you can extend a mayoral hand towards the SCPD. They may have information that we're unable to access. Sound good?"

"Yeah sounds good," Oliver says, resigned with a lack of any other solutions. "But stay in touch and if we don't have any new leads within an hour, we need to reevaluate our approach, okay?"

"One hour," Diggle agrees as they both move up the stairs and split to go their own ways.

…

_The second time Oliver kissed her was a Friday. It had been one month since he had agreed to run for mayor and they were working late in his office on his debut campaign speech for the next day. Everyone else had left the offices well over an hour ago, leaving just the two of them. Felicity looked tired, worn down, and absolutely beautiful in that one red dress he loved that had the buttons and the open back. She was standing next to him, rearranging the order of his speech that was all laid out on an idea board in front of them. Her hair was falling in a tempting curtain across her face, and it was impossible for him to resist tucking it behind her ear. As he did so, he heard her breath catch and he looked down to see her staring back up at him in confusion. He leaned down gently, as if gravity was seducing him towards her. His lips brushed gently against hers as her forearms moved to rest against his chest. He expected her to resist, but instead, she melted into him, kissing back for a moment as their lips moved in synchronicity while his thumb stroked against her cheekbone._

_"__Oliver?" she said when they finally broke apart, her cheeks flushed and her eyes squeezed shut._

_"__Hmm?" he asked as his forehead rested against hers._

_"__You cannot just keep kissing me whenever you want, okay?"_

_"__Why not?" he asked, the husky tone of his voice matching the haze in hers._

_"__I-I don't know," she replied, finally opening her eyes to stare into his, her eyebrows drawn up in confusion._

_"__Okay," he said, because he strangely understood where she was coming from, but they didn't break away quite yet. They stayed just as they were for a moment, and what a picture they made. Standing there, partially entwined in the dim offices, only the silence to keep them company as they tried to sort through the thoughts that surged loudly through their minds. They stayed like that for a moment, but eventually she moved away, and he let his head fall, a heavy weight without her beneath him as a support. He rubbed his fingers together in irritation before moving to stare back at the board that was almost mockingly colorful, too bright for his current mindset._

_"__I think it's worth it for you to mention your thoughts on budget allocation for the public schools. That's something that all of the parents will be very invested in." he heard her speak from her place by his desk._

_"__Yeah, absolutely," he replied in an attempt to refocus on the matter at hand._

_And so, the pattern of avoidance continued._

_…_

Oliver pulls his motorcycle to the curb when he reaches his destination, immediately pulling his cell phone from his pocket and dialing a number that he hasn't thought about in far too long. He holds his breath with each ring that passes, praying to hear a voice on the other end.

"Ollie?" Sara answers after four rings.

"Sara…" Oliver whispers, realizing how relieved he is to hear her voice.

"My dad called a couple of minutes ago and told me everything," she says, sounding alert and worried. "Nyssa isn't allowed to leave but I'm on my way. That is, if you want me to come."

"Of course I do," Oliver breathes out. "That's actually why I called…"

There is a moment of silence where only static exists between them.

"How are you?" he hears Sara ask quietly, knowing fully what she means by the question.

Oliver takes a moment to inhale as tears come to his eyes against his permission.

"I need to find her Sara," Oliver finally says, his voice thick with emotion.

"We will Ollie, I promise," Sara says softly. "Hang in there, and do what you can. I should be there by early afternoon tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Oliver says, before the line goes dead. He returns his phone to his pocket and gets off his bike, before walking into the Starling City Police Department, determined to not leave until he has some answers.


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: Wow, the response to this story has been absolutely incredible so far. I want you all to know that I read ever single one of you're beautiful comments, and they never fail to put a smile on my face... Thank you so much for reading, you wonderful people!**

As Oliver storms through the precinct at a brisk pace, people gape and whisper, seemingly shocked by the Mayor's presence. He doesn't bother to pay the onlookers any attention as he seeks out Quentin. The older man immediately rushes over when his eyes meet Oliver's, quickly pulling him into a semi-private hallway.

"Jesus, Oliver, I thought that if I let you leave that crime scene you would at least take care of yourself. For God's sake, you probably have a concussion," he says gruffly, while looking the ragged man up and down.

_'Shit_' Oliver thinks, remembering that he has several bloody cuts on his face accompanied by some severe bruising along his hairline.

No wonder people had been staring.

"I'm fine," Oliver attempts to reassure him with the stoic statement, but his eyes give him away, portraying a much less convincing story.

"Sara's on her way," he continues, taking away Quentin's opportunity to argue. "I wanted to thank you for having the foresight to fill her in. Hopefully this will all be settled before she even sets foot in town, but if not, I have a feeling we'll be needing her." He pauses and waits for Quentin to nod, accepting the thanks, before getting to the more serious subject matter.

"Look, the only reason I'm even here is to see if your guys have any insight into what the hell happened, because we have been digging, but we're coming up blank, and we could really use any information you have to offer."

Quentin nods knowingly while Oliver speaks, before leaning in, clearly not wanting his words to be overheard.

"Look, whoever you're dealing with? They're good. All of our evidence that was logged into our technological databases mysteriously vanished the moment it was uploaded; I'm talking fingerprints, forensic reports, all of it. Obviously this puts us in a position of vulnerability, so we can't exactly make any declarations about it to the public, but you need to be aware that you're not dealing with amateurs." Quentin speaks in a hushed, conspiratorial tone, his eyes filled with worry for the small blonde whose life is in the hands of a clearly malicious entity.

"Dammit," Oliver mutters while running a hand over his face, a quiet curse that somehow echoes off of the walls of the small alcove they are tucked into.

"Hey, here's what I can tell you," Quentin says as he places an anchoring hand on Oliver's shoulder, an attempt to calm him down. "Whatever hit your car did some significant damage. We estimated early on that it had to be _at least_ the size of a small truck, but no bigger than an industrial van. There were also witness reports that mentioned a black van that was speeding away from the scene, so that's most likely our guy. Unfortunately, that's where we lose our trail considering there are gaps in all of the street camera footage surrounding the scene, and none of the witnesses caught a license plate. We have an APB out for anything that matches that description, but so far, nothing."

Oliver nods while listening to the information, attempting to separate it into compartments of 'noteworthy' and 'insignificant'.

"That is… at least something for us to focus on. Thank you, Quentin." Oliver says as he impatiently moves in the direction of the exit, eager to not waste any more time.

"Of course," Quentin replies, "You'll be the first to hear if we make any more progress. And kid… just, make sure you take care of yourself, yeah?"

With a look of gratitude, and one solid nod, Oliver makes his way out of the precinct, once again pulling his cell phone from his pocket.

"My hour isn't up, Oliver," Diggle greets him after two rings.

"I'm already through at the precinct. They're basically more in the dark than we are, but Quentin was able to pass along some helpful information. It seems that our guy is driving a black van, license plate and location unknown, although you can bet there's a good deal of damage to the front after the accident." Oliver talks quickly before switching to Bluetooth, kicking his bike into gear.

"Any news on your end with Lyla and ARGUS?" the engine forces him to shout the question.

"Not quite, Lyla is having me stay with Ellie while she goes to meet up with Waller, but I'll fill her in on the vehicle information so she can relay it back to them… if anyone is going to be able to find something that we couldn't, you can count on it to be them," Diggle says in hushed tones, his attempt to not wake the sleeping baby in the other room.

Only silence passes through the phone as Oliver sits impatiently at a red light, unsure of where he's even going.

"Oliver, why don't you come over and wait with me. There's nothing we can do until Lyla gets back anyway," Digg says gently, and suddenly Oliver feels like he's the child that Diggle doesn't want to disturb.

"Yeah, yeah I'll be there in a bit." Is Oliver's only reply, his frustration with the stagnancy of their circumstances significantly seeping into the tone of his voice.

…

_The tone of Oliver's voice throughout his first press conference was fake and foreign, even to his own ears. As much as he had come to like the idea of being the Mayor of Starling over the past month, he still couldn't help but feel like an imposter in front of the masses. After all, in his nighttime activities, he was the antithesis of a government official. Even so, he knew what the position could mean for his future, not just as Oliver Queen, but also as the Arrow._

_Flanked by his 'body guard' and 'personal assistant', he stood on a podium in front of a number of reporters and a large group of the public and, with his 'billionaire' smile plastered on his face, he prattled on about healthcare, and public schooling, and community clean up. He avoided the topic of local crime though. That just seemed to blur the lines a little too far._

_As his speech was wrapping up, he couldn't help but feel like he wasn't reaching his audience, like they weren't buying any of what he was putting out there. And why would they? It wasn't like he had an impeccable record acting as a foundation for his campaign._

_Grappling with how he could impress his most sincere intentions into the crowd, he made the choice to stop reading from the prepared document in front of him, instead opting to simply discuss the thoughts that were running through his head._

_"4 months ago," he started, unsure of the direction his speech had taken. "4 months ago, I watched skeptically as my mother, Moira Queen, pursued this same position. She pursued it with grace and courage, and I am convinced that she would have been the city's best option for the job. Unfortunately, she's no longer here to prove that to you all, but with your vote of confidence, I hope to honor her legacy and, in turn, honor this city. I am not here to tell you what Starling needs, because honestly, it seems like the needs of this city are constantly changing and evolving day by day. What I am here to do is offer support to this city while it finds its footing after the trauma it has experienced. I am here to facilitate a rebirth of what we used to be, of what we used to stand for. I am here to help Starling evolve into something better than it has ever been, and I hope you will trust me and encourage me in that pursuit. Thank you."_

_He stepped down the podium with a wave while the reporters began shouting out questions and the public applauded._

_"That was genius, they totally ate it up" Felicity whispered, following by his side as they made their way through the crowd and into a more private area._

_"High praise coming from a _real life_ genius," Oliver commented, earning a smile and a blush, his two favorite things to see on Felicity's face. _

_Over the past 24 hours since he had kissed her, Oliver had expected things to be strained or even awkward like they had been a month ago after their first kiss. He wasn't sure if he should feel pleased or discouraged that this time around, things were much more comfortable. He watched as Felicity left his side to go chat with Diggle while he mingled with journalists and news representatives._

_At one point, he looked over to see her brightly engaged in conversation with several potential endorsers, all of them laughing at a comment she had made. _

_It hit him then how much he enjoyed having her here with him, always by his side to offer support. It made him yearn for a day when she had a better excuse to be glued to his hip than just the title of 'personal assistant'. _

_He knew it was dangerous to open that door of their relationship, but now that he had cracked it open slowly over the past month, he wasn't sure if he would be able to stop himself from one day bursting through._

_ …_

When Oliver knocks on the door of Diggle's apartment, he is suddenly overwhelmed with the undeniable fact that it's been almost three hours since they took her. Three hours and they have barely made any progress. He rapidly begins to feel incredibly lost, standing in an empty hallway that he has been in countless times, and it's not just because she's not there, it's because he has no context for where she _is, _and suddenly he is searching for any purchase, grasping for a handhold in this black hole that he was sucked into the minute her existence became an uncertain concept.

It is with kind eyes that Diggle opens the door, stepping aside to invite his friend in.

30 minutes later and Oliver is leaning against the railing of Ellie's crib, watching her sleep soundly with his pointer finger firmly grasped in her tiny fist. It's a disturbing realization for him that there are such innocent creatures living in a world where malicious influences were working to bring harm to someone like _her._ The dichotomy makes his heart ache.

As worked up as he is, there is a mesmerizing nature to the presence of a sleeping baby, and while Oliver watches Ellie breathe in and breathe out, he finds himself calming down enough to process the information that they have available to them. As he begins thinking things through, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he is forgetting something, that there is an obvious answer to their problem. It's like the solution is on the tip of his tongue but he can't get himself to spit the words out. He can't decide if the feeling is honest or a trick of the exhaustion that is playing at the edges of his mind, because they don't even have a hint of where she may be, so what could he possibly be forgetting?

"Lyla just sent a text saying that she's on her way back," Diggle, who is speaking from the doorway of Ellie's nursery, interrupts Oliver thoughts, pushing them back into the depths of his brain where they originated. "She didn't say much, but I'm sure she'll give us a full rundown when she gets back."

"That's good," Oliver speaks softly, still tense, but relieved to hear that they are making progress and being productive, even if he's not directly involved. "Once we get news, we need to be prepared to react. We really can't afford to waste anymore time."

…

_"Explain to me again how exactly you can afford a place like this?" Felicity asked while looking out the floor to ceiling windows of the penthouse apartment that overlooked the city._

_"It's not so much that I _can_ as I _have _to," Oliver said, admiring how the sunlight came through the window, colliding with her golden hair in a beautiful dance. "After all, the election is just a few weeks away, and if I want people to vote for me as Mayor, I sort of need to uphold an image of… not homeless," he continued while moving across the room to stand next to her. "Plus, it doesn't hurt that I got another anonymous donation deposited directly into my bank account yesterday. I know Walter is trying to be subtle, but seriously, I could practically smell the biscuits and tea on the money."_

_She smiled, something that always instills a pride within him, especially when he's the cause._

_"There wouldn't happen to be any correlation between your sudden bout of good fortune with a British money fairy and my increase in pay from the campaign managers now, would there," she said, feigning ignorance._

"_Well, I was the reason you lost your last job in the first place, so just consider it compensation." He could tell she wanted to argue, so he quickly worked to change the subject._

_"So, what do you think?" He asked with a sweeping gesture through the main living space. _

_"Well, it's obviously gorgeous. Definitely a step up from a cot in a dusty basement…" She responded, walking around to study the space, tilting her head back to examine the architecturally detailed ceiling. "I'm still a little confused as to why you needed my approval before you signed though," she said, accompanying the statement with a teasing glance over her shoulder, before she turned to face him, her features sobering. "Really, Oliver, it's amazing."_

_Now he was the one smiling._

_"Well?" came the voice of the agent that was showing him the apartment as she reentered the room, having left to check on a technical detail in the bathroom a few minutes ago. "Now that you've had a second chance to look around, how are you feeling about the property Mr. Queen?"_

_"I think it's perfect," Oliver said while watching Felicity trail her hand along the granite countertop of the island, her back to him. He shifted his attention to the older woman in the room, before informing her of his final decision._

_"I'll take it."_

_ …_

"I can't take it Digg, I can't just sit here anymore."

Diggle is perched on a stool watching as Oliver wears a groove into the floor where he has been pacing for the past ten minutes. Both of their heads shoot in the direction of the entrance at the sound of the front door opening, followed by the sounds of Lyla's footsteps.

"Johnny?" She asks in an attempt to locate the two men.

"In here," he says and they listen as she moves in the direction of the kitchen.

"Hey," she says as she walks into the room, offering Diggle a small smile and Oliver an even smaller nod.

"Well?" Oliver asks earnestly when only an eerie silence fills the space in between the three of them. "What's the news?"

"Unfortunately, there's not much news to give," Lyla finally says, releasing her words in the form of a disappointed sigh.

"Basically, ARGUS is keeping a close eye on any reports that involve vehicles matching the description, but so far, they haven't been able to find anything. They also are running facial recognition on security cameras in airports, train stations, and basically every other point of exit this city has to offer. The downside to that strategy is if they were planning to get out her out, they would be out by now, so that window of opportunity may already be sealed. But that doesn't mean that there's not still a chance something will come up. You'll be hearing from Waller directly if there's any new information."

The news hits Oliver like a blow to the gut, all of his pent up energy quickly draining out of his limbs, his posture noticeably sagging.

"I'm sorry, Oliver, but maybe it's best to just wait things out for a bit at this point," Lyla says, moving to rub a comforting hand up and down his arm before turning to walk in the direction of the nursery, leaving him with Digg.

"I-I don't understand," Oliver says, his stance rigid and unmoving.

"I don't get how someone just _disappears_. They can't just be gone, Digg, they have to be somewhere… _she_ has to be _somewhere_."

His voice gains momentum as he speaks, his urgency in the matter increasing.

"Maybe they're still in Starling, maybe they're waiting for me to find them and they have no intention of leaving. I mean, this could just be ransom, not just for me as the Arrow, but for me as the Mayor, it really could be either, so maybe this is just bait and they're just holding her hostage until I give them what they want. And maybe if I give them what they want, they'll let her go unharmed, you know? Maybe they don't want to hurt her, maybe they just want to hurt me." As he speaks, he returns to the rhythmic pattern of pacing the floor while Digg idly watches the man who is quickly unraveling, uncertain of what to tell him.

"Oliver, don't you think they would have made an attempt to contact you by now if this was just an act of ransom? You _know_ that I want to get her back safely just as much as you do, but we need to make sure we're approaching this logically. And I hate to say it, but from a realistic perspective, I'm pretty certain that this has nothing to do with your relationship to her."

"But why would anyone want to hurt her, the only bad thing about her is me, so why would someone take _her?! _Dammit, where is she?" His voice reaches hysteria as he swings a punch into the nearest wall. The loud, resonating sound is quickly punctuated by Ellie's cries from the other room, helping to shake Oliver out of his rage.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I-I'm so sorry," Oliver repeats while shifting his eyes between Diggle's concerned features and his own bloodied fist, his eyes wild and uncertain.

"Hey, It's alright man," Digg says while approaching him in a cautious manner.

"N-no, it's not. I should go, I can't be here," He says softly, clearly ashamed of his actions as he backs up towards the entrance.

"Okay, well why don't we both go back to the lair and we can regroup and do some more research. Sound good?" Diggle's resolution to be by his friend's side while he is struggling is evident, and it is made clear that he will not be abandoning Oliver any time soon.

"Okay, yeah," Oliver says with an accepting nod.

It's not much, but it's hope.

…

"_Oliver, I seriously hope you plan on hiring an interior designer or something, because while this is great and all, it umm, could definitely use some, I don't know, furniture…."_

_Oliver chuckled, unable to deny the validity of Felicity's statement considering their current conditions. He was sitting on the floor of the new apartment that he had signed for just earlier that day, with Felicity and Diggle mirroring his position, a mostly finished box of pizza sitting between the three of them._

_The two men listened contently while Felicity rambled on about how a sectional would really fill out the space, and how he could go for a very chic, urban look with all neutral colors and clean lines. At some point amidst her fast-talking and animated gestures, she mentioned the idea of a clean slate, and that concept stuck with him, helping him to realize that all he really wanted after he lost his mother and Thea had left was a fresh start, and his that was exactly what the position of Mayor could give him._

_"I want to make a toast," he said abruptly, interrupting Felicity's babbling._

_"I uhh, want to thank you guys for all the support you offer me. I certainly wouldn't be the same man today had you two never come into my life and shown me how I could be better, and I know I don't always know how to express that to you guys, but that doesn't mean that it's not true…" he spoke slowly, eventually trailing off, forgetting that this was a toast and not a heart-felt confession._

_"To the team," Felicity said, picking up her untouched bottle of beer, a motion that the two men mimicked._

_"To _friends," _Oliver amended._

_"To friends," the other two echoed back, before they all clinked their bottles with one another._

_"Not that this wasn't great, but it's getting late and I have a very pregnant wife at home who will be pretty mad with me if I don't walk through the front door within the next 20 minutes," Diggle said after some time, pushing himself up into a standing position. "You want me to walk you out to your car, Felicity?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the seated blonde. Her eyes shifted between the man sitting across from her and the man towering over her left side, finally resting on Diggle's face._

_"Nah," she said, and she could practically feel Oliver's lips discreetly turning up even though he was attempting to hide his face by looking down. "I can't leave the billionaire playboy to do all of the dishes by himself on his first night in his new place now, can I?" _

_She chose to divert her eyes from Diggle's knowing smirk, but that didn't prevent a blush from creeping up her cheeks. She didn't know what had compelled her to stay. She knew their relationship was messy at the moment and she didn't want her actions to confuse him, but for some reason it just seemed like the right choice._

_"Alright," Diggle responded while moving towards the entrance. "In that case, I will see you two in the morning."_

_"Night Digg," Oliver shouted after him as he gave a small wave and walked out the front door, leaving the 'kids' to their fun. _

_The silence that filled the cavernous space immediately after he shut the door was daunting. Instantly, the tension became thick, something that confused Felicity. Finally, she coughed before gathering the forgotten plates, napkins, and bottles, standing up from the wood floors and making her way to the kitchen that existed in the back half of the space. She worked quietly, discarding the trash and turning on the faucet of the sink, allowing the basin to fill with hot water. Of course he didn't have soap, so she was forced to just let the plates soak. She could sense his presence following her silently as she worked, so when she finally turned around, she wasn't surprised to find him casually leaning against the island, watching her intently. She made the choice to hop up on the counter-top, directly across from where he stood so they were facing each other. They remained like that for a moment, just wordlessly staring at each other, before Felicity recognized that it was a bizarre circumstance. She grappled for something to say in an attempt to ease the mood, and she ended up speaking the first words that came to mind._

_"So, Mr. Queen, probable future Mayor of Starling, what will be your first act of legislation to 'save this apartment'?" She said it in her best imitation of a serious reporter, earning a chuckle from the usually stoic man in front of her. He let his head drop, an honest smile gracing his face before he pushed off from the counter to move towards her. He slowly uncrossed his arms as he approached, and when he got closer, he moved them to brace both palms on the counter, framing her legs, his thumbs barely grazing her jean-clad thighs._

_"Hmmm, you know, I'm not sure. I'm new to this, so it's all a little overwhelming… Do you have any suggestions for me Ms. Smoak?" His eyes were shining with mischief while she sat there, completely flustered by his proximity._

_"Oliver…" she whispered, a warning and a plea twisted into one breath of his name._

_He couldn't stop himself from leaning in to capture the taste of his name on her mouth. He was pleasantly surprised to find that her soft lips somehow had the ability to manipulate his bitter existence into a sweetness he had never experienced._

_For a moment, he felt her hesitate, but that quickly changed as her arms shifted from the space in between them to the nape of his neck, where they softly worked at the short tufts of hair, their lips moving in a rhythm that they both seemed to understand quite well. What had started gentle, quickly evolved into an entirely different beast, and soon they were reduced to a mess of scraping teeth and soothing tongues._

_"Shit…" Felicity sighed while abruptly pulling away from him._

_"What?" he asked, an adorable tone of concern creeping into his voice, the depths of his eyes searching hers in attempt to figure out what had gone wrong._

_"Shit, shit, shitty shit," she repeated as she pushed against his chest, effectively distancing them so she had just enough room to gracelessly shimmy off the counter top. _

_"Felicity…!" He shouted after her as she stumbled to grab her purse from the other side of the kitchen. Oliver followed closely behind her as she made her way to his front door, wanting to reach out and have her explain what was happening._

_He was taken aback when she suddenly pivoted, practically colliding with him. There was a complicated look of accusation playing beneath the depths of her blue irises that caused a pain deep in his chest._

_"You shouldn't have… I can't… We aren't… I told you Oliver. I told you that you couldn't just keep doing this. Okay?"_

_It was dead silent in the dim apartment as he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, looking everywhere but her eyes that were glistening with tears._

_"Okay," he finally agreed, unable to deny her wishes, wanting to respect the distance that she was implementing._

_"Okay." She said finally, before turning and walking out his door, leaving him in the darkness._

_ …_

"How're you doing man, are you okay?"

"I don't get it Digg." Oliver replies while sifting through irrelevant databases on the computers in the lair, knowing that he is not the person that should be sitting there using them.

"I don't get why someone would just take her. I don't get how she's just _gone._ And I certainly don't get how nobody is doing anything about it."

As if by fate, he sees his phone light up out of the corner of his eye, followed immediately by the ring that signifies an incoming phone call. He immediately snatches it up before answering.

"Hello?" He asks nervously, uncertain of what to expect.

"Mr. Queen." Comes the voice he knows belongs to Amanda Waller. "I can't necessarily say 'it's been too long'… I'm calling to inform you that there is currently a black, dented van traveling down Keller St. in the Glades. I suggest you hurry before you lose them again."

She hangs up before he has a chance to question her.

Without missing a beat, he is moving towards the glass case that houses his leathers.

"Well?" he hears Digg ask from behind him.

"They got a hit from Keller St. in the Glades." Oliver replies shortly before turning to quickly go change.

Less than two minutes later and he is grabbing his bow off of the rack where it hangs.

"I need you here on comms," he says as he walks briskly past Diggle.

"Hell no," is the other man's reply as he follows Oliver up the stairs. "No chance I'm letting you go out there alone after the night you've had."

Oliver turns quickly, stopping them both in their tracks, an irritated grimace on his face.

"You wanna waste even more time and argue me on it? Be my guest," Diggle says. There is a moment of silent, heated argument before Oliver nods, resuming his path up the stairs and out of the lair with Diggle following behind him.

They leave the lair one member short, but Oliver does not intend to return that way. He is determined to put an end to whatever scum took her away from him. He is determined to bring her home.

**AN: Wow, these chapters just keep getting longer and longer... As stgroffleberry pointed out, I am working really hard to mimic what they do in the show, paralleling present day with flashbacks, so hopefully that's all still flowing okay... I have big plans for this story, and it's basically writing itself at this point which is ****_so_**** cool, so I hope some of you guys hang in there to enjoy the journey with me! Once again, thank you for reading!**


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: I apologize that this story is a few days late! Hopefully I didn't lose anyone's interest... This is a very plot driven chapter, so fingers crossed you guys don't get bored! Also, your reviews and follows put the biggest smile on my face, so keep 'em coming! Thank you for reading, you lovely people!**

As Oliver mounts his bike and begins speeding towards the Glades in pursuit of the reported black van, he suddenly becomes nervous. His thoughts run rampant, thinking over the hundreds of scenarios that have the possibility of taking place in the next ten minutes. He unconsciously speeds up as the urgency of the situation makes itself apparent, reminding himself that they have a small window of opportunity, that if they lose the van, he may never see her again.

"I got eyes on the north end, but so far, no sighting," he hears Diggle say over the comms.

"Currently patrolling Keller, but no luck so far." Oliver grinds out, the fear that they had already lost the bastard evident. "Can you take over? I'm going see if I can get a more… aerial view." Oliver says as he pulls a sharp right into a back alleyway.

Within seconds he is scaling the wall of a brick building, using various fire escapes as his handholds.

He runs along the rooftops, agilely jumping from building to building, his eyes trained on the network of roadways that exist cohesively beneath him.

"Oliver! I think I just spotted him turning down 24th and Arbor." Digg communicates rapidly.

"On it!" Oliver shouts as he breaks into a sprint in the direction of the mentioned location.

He works to mentally calculate for the vehicle's travel time, and ends up spotting the van a few blocks ahead of where Digg had reported it to be. His heart clenches when it turns down the road that he is standing above, and he takes the opportunity to shoot an arrow towards the building across from him, giving him a rope to propel down, landing soundly on the top of the car.

As the driver screeches to a stop, Oliver slides smoothly down the windshield and hood, immediately turning to face the van, knocking an arrow and aiming it in the direction of the driver's seat.

"Where is she?" he growls, impatient for a response.

…

_"Where is he, Digg? He was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago and it is not going to do him well to make his tendency for tardiness known to the public."_

_Felicity was pacing the prep area for the debate, knowing that they only had ten minutes before Oliver would be expected on stage._

_She furiously tossed her phone onto the love seat tucked into the corner of the makeshift greenroom, frustrated with the fact that she had called him over ten times and he hadn't answered once._

_"I wish I could shed some insight, but you two have been spending so much time together lately, that I can't imagine there's something I know that you don't." Diggle said, studying his nails before throwing a knowing look in Felicity's direction. She gave it right back with a sigh, signaling that now was not the time to get into _that_ conversation._

_"Are we ever going to talk about what's going on, Felicity? Because I know you two like to think that I don't pick up on these things, but…"_

_"Can we just drop it? There's honestly nothing to even talk about, okay? We went through a weird… phase and now it's over. We're good, we're moving on, and all is right in the universe, okay?"_

_Digg searched her over, assuring himself that she was okay with the circumstances, before letting out a sigh and nodding his agreement._

_"Look," he continued while glancing down at his watch. "I hate to say this, but you might want to start preparing a speech to explain his absence."_

_"_That_, will not be necessary," came Oliver's voice as he rushed into the small space, unsuccessfully attempting to tie his tie while walking._

_"Where the _hell _have you been?" Felicity screeched, stomping towards him until they were toe to toe. "You were supposed to be here half an hour ago and now you just waltz in like some entitled jackass."_

_"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was on my way but then there was this back alley drug deal going on by the lair, and I got the name of the drug lord running the operation, so I went back to the lair to do some research and I lost track of time."_

_"I'm gonna kill him," Felicity muttered to Digg while walking to the other side of the room, intent on putting some space between herself and the infuriating man._

_"How much time do I have?" Oliver asked, looking in a mirror to properly position his tie._

_"2 minutes before you go on stage." Felicity said, while looking over the notes she had prepared for him one more time._

_"Words of advice?" Oliver asked, raising an eyebrow at her in the mirror._

_"Here's a tip: it's okay for us to know you're an entitled jackass, just don't give _them_ the chance to catch on," was her only response as she thrust the notes in his direction, nodding for him to take them. He grabbed them, but leaned in before she had the chance to back away._

_"We okay?" he said, lowering his tone to an intimate hush._

_"Mr. Queen?" came the voice of one of the stage managers running the event. "We're ready for you."_

_"Just go," Felicity said, and when his eyes remained on hers, his concern at the forefront of his features, she let up with an encouraging small and a nod towards the exit. "You need to go, Oliver." _

_After a standstill moment, he finally accepted whatever had transpired between them and moved to follow the young man out of the room and out towards the stage, leaving Felicity standing there, worrying her lip._

_"Nothing going on my ass," she heard Digg mumble from the back of the room._

_"Drop it, Digg," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Just, drop it."_

_…_

"Drop the gun, get out of the car, and tell me where she is."

Oliver barks the commands at the man in the driver's seat of the van who had just attempted to discreetly pull a gun out from where it had been tucked behind his back. Accepting defeat, the man slowly opens the door and steps out of the car putting his hands in the air.

"L-look man, I don't want no trouble," he stutters out, his entire body shaking.

"Where. Is. She?" Is Oliver's only reply.

"Who?" The man asks, his brow drawing up in confusion.

"You know who," Oliver shouts back, tensing his hold on the arrow, something that the nameless man recognizes as a threat.

"Hey easy man, I don't know what you're talking abou-"

"Felicity. Felicity Smoak." Oliver bites out, her name tasting bitter on his lips given the circumstances. "I'm only going to ask one more time. What did you do with her?" Despite his trembling body, his words are steady and intense, the position of his bow unwavering.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about…" The man whispers, unable to give the hood the answer he wants.

"You're lying!" Oliver screams, a damp, salty substance running down his face. The man cowers in anticipation. "This is the van. You hit the car and _you took her_." Oliver says, his voice beginning to shake more than his body. At this statement, the culprit perks up.

"The van? N-no, no, no, you got it wrong man. I found this ditched on the south end of the Glades, no owner in sight. I… thought I'd take up the position myself, maybe make a good chunk of change after selling it."

Oliver goes silent, reeling back from the statement. His hand is twitching, the urge to put an arrow through the messenger insistent. But there's a soft, sweet voice in the back of his mind whispering that this man is innocent.

It's for that reason that he lowers his bow, watching as the man waits a moment and then proceeds to turn and run into the darkness of the night.

He hears Diggle pull up in his car and get out, but Oliver remains motionless.

"Wha- you're letting him go? Oliver?" Digg asks, his tone incredulous.

"It wasn't him. Just an innocent bystander guilty of theft." Oliver mutters, moving to get into the driver's side of the car.

"What are you doing?" Digg shouts as Oliver gets in the car.

"Driving this wreck back to the lair. It's evidence and I don't trust it with the SCPD. Maybe Sara can find something on it when she gets here." He sys before turning the key that the culprit left in the ignition."

"Hey!" Diggle shouts, before Oliver has the chance to drive away. "We're not giving up. It's just a minor setback."

Oliver stares at him blankly for a moment, feeling even more lost than ever, before nodding and shifting the van into drive.

…

_"Look, you can't give up, it's just a minor setback," Felicity said while pacing the floor of Oliver's campaign office._

_"Felicity, I appreciate that, but the exit poll of that debate made it pretty clear who the front-runner is," Oliver replied, leaning against his desk while reaching up to loosen his tie._

_"That doesn't mean anything, Oliver," Digg said from where he was sitting on the small sofa against one of the walls._

_"He's right, I mean you still have your final speech tomorrow afternoon and a whole 24 hours to make an impact before people vote tomorrow night. There's still time." Felicity said, still pacing the floor with fervor, a habit that Oliver noticed increased the second he decided to run for mayor._

_"If you guys say," Oliver said with a small chuckle, clearing not convinced of the fact._

_The room was silent for a moment as each individual thought through the debate that had taken place just an hour ago, determined to find a plan of attack._

_"I still can't believe Lyons was _that_ aggressive, I mean, he just tore it apart," Felicity murmured, finally halting her activity._

_"Right?" Oliver asked, playing an amused perspective, grabbing for any lighthearted conversation he could engage her in. "I mean, it was just… abrasive. I felt like telling the 'king of the jungle' to just take it back a notch, I mean, seriously…" A smile was playing on his lips as she lets out a giggle while chewing on her nails._

_"That thing about, what was it, taking responsibility for a self-inflicted decline?" She said with a questioning glance "I mean, what even was that?"_

_"Right? 'This is our time Starling, this it our _time_. We must have the dignity to be better than our forefathers, blah, blah, blah. I mean, my God, it was worse than the lectures my father used to give me when I was kicked out of college."_

_At this point, they were both laughing, neither one having realized that Diggle had stepped out to take a call from Lyla._

_"_He,_ I must say, was an entitled jackass," Felicity said, finally breaking the silence, while uncomfortably looking down, pivoting back and forth on the heels of her shoes._

_Oliver contentedly watched her for a moment, completely invested in every part of her. It always amazed him how unaware she was of the effect she seemed to have on every person she came into contact with, an unstoppable force of all things perfectly awkward and insistently positive, a direct contrast to the structured, realistic household he had been raised in. He couldn't help but ponder, in the moment, about every little circumstance that had shaped her into the beautiful, restless woman before him._

_"Does that mean that I no longer fit the description of the term?" he finally asked, surprising her out of her movements._

_"It's not so much that…" she started with a smile on her face, before continuing in a much more serious tone. "It's just, you, Oliver Queen, continue to defy any definition that I try to peg you with. So maybe I'm just giving up altogether."_

_Diggle reentered the room before he had the chance to respond, and the conversation quickly shifted to how Lyla was doing with only one month to go before the delivery. Oliver tried to stay engaged, but he couldn't help but to let his mind wander to the different definitions that Felicity Smoak had tried to fit him into. He was up for hours that night, thinking about the beautiful blonde and the one ambiguous definition that he wanted to prove to her that he could fit into, so long as she fit into it with him._

_…_

He had been up for hours now. How long had it been? They left the event at around 11:00, and it was now almost 10:00 in the morning, so 11 hours since the kidnapping, right? Or was it 12…

He knows he is sleep deprived. His excuse for not sleeping is that he needs to be alert if they get a hit, but in reality, it's because he has spent the past eight months sleeping soundly with a certain warmth tucked into his side, and he can't bear to slip into the world of unconscious with the absence of that entity blatantly apparent.

He is dozing off while scrolling through various databases, when he hears the sound of someone walking down the stairs.

He's so out of it that he barely turns his head in time to see Sara rushing down the last two steps. She spots him instantly, and as he stands, she walks right into his arms.

"Ollie," she whispers, unable to find the right words of condolence.

"I was staring to wonder when we'd see you around here," Diggle said from the other side of the lair.

Sara steps from Oliver's arms only to casually walk around the lair.

"Decent new set-up." She says. "Not _quite_ as nice as the League's base of operations, but I give you guys credit, this it… impressive." She has a mischievous glint in her eyes, reaching for humor, but her face sobers as she glances between the two wary men.

"What _happened_ you guys?" She says with a sigh, her posture slackening.

"Oliver?" Digg says in suggestion for the man to explain their status.

Oliver shakes his head, placing a hand in front of him, unwilling to analyze the details of the circumstances _again. _As he turns towards their sparring mats where a dummy awaits him,Diggle nods, and instantly steps in to take up the role.

"Oliver and Felicity left a fundraiser last night around 11:00. On their way home, the car was hit, Oliver hit his head, passed out, and when he woke up, Felicity was gone and so was whoever hit them. But, obviously, you already know all of this." Diggle says, waiting for Sara to agree with a nod before continuing. "We had no leads up until a couple of hours ago when ARGUS called us with a hit on a car in the Glades that matched the description. Oliver was able to catch the guy, but it turns out he was just a carjacker. Apparently, our kidnapper played musical chairs at some point. Either that, or he just abandoned the use of transportation altogether."

Diggle moves towards the computer bank with Sara following closely behind, processing the information.

He is in the process of pulling up the street camera footage for the different points in town that they have classified as worthy of surveillance since their recent discoveries early that morning, when Sara interrupts his train of thought.

"So, has the SCPD gotten back to you with any forensics from the vehicle, or…?"

"That'sactually what we were hoping you could help us with." Digg responds, turning to face her.

"What do you mean…" Sara starts as the sound of Oliver's rhythmic pounding comes to an abrupt halt, earning the attention of the other two people in the space. He grabs a water bottle from the kitchenette that Felicity had insisted on before joining their pow-wow.

"We uh-well, _I, _didn't trust the SCPD with the car. I mean, after all, it is the only evidence we have left. So, we umm… kept it," Oliver says as Sara simply stares at him.

"Kept it?" Sara asks incredulously, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.

"Took it, is probably more accurate actually, considering we never really reported the affair." Diggle interjects.

"Well? Then where is it?" Sara speaks up, kicking Oliver into motion.

"Right, well, the new and improved arrowcave has a few surprise bonuses," Oliver says dryly, turning in the direction of the stairs.

Sara follows Oliver's lead, with Diggle trailing behind her.

"Where are we going?" She asks as they exit the lair into a small hallway of the abandoned building it's located in.

"If you would just wait two seconds, you'll see," Is Oliver's response as he unlocks a different door in the same hallway that reveals another similar set of stairs.

The three of them walk down the stairs, and Sara gasps at what's at the bottom.

It's a cavernous, surprisingly well-lit space, than many would consider a type of garage. Currently, it is playing host to Oliver's bike, Digg's car, and a black, dented van that Sara assumes is their evidence, but there is a plethora of space left over.

As she lets her gaze wander, she notices a ramp on the far end of the space, that she assumes leads to the alley next to the building they are in the basement of.

Noting her intrigue, Oliver only feels it's fair to explain the situation. To help her understand, he moves towards one of the walls where a panel exists. He types in a code, and instantly a significant column of the solid cement wall contracts into a grate in the floor, revealing the lair on the other side of the passageway.

"When I first made this purchase, I didn't even know the garage was attached. It was Felicity that stumbled upon the wiring one day, discovering that there was a concealed external entrance. We've been using it to discreetly come and go. Unfortunately, the passageway only let's us go into the lair, but not out, so you either need to leave the passageway open 24/7, which is risky, or you need to take the stairs. Kind of circuitous, but definitely worth it for the discretion. Felicity… she was actually working on putting wiring on the inside so we could eliminate the need for any other entrance into the lair altogether, but…"

"_But,_ she's going to finish it when she's back safe and sound, yeah?" Sara asks, stepping up close, to meet Oliver's eyes.

He gives one solid nod - which he instantly wants to take back because it feels like a jinx - before walking in the direction of the black vehicle.

"This is our focus right now," he starts, looking between his partners, "at least until a different lead presents itself. Sara, do you think you could do some forensic testing? I mean, I know it's really not your forte, but…" Oliver trails off, watching as Sara pokes around the vehicle, opening the trunk before freezing.

"Well, there's some blood here, and that is definitely my forte."

Oliver doesn't respond, and it's not until she looks up that she realizes the sheer terror that has overtaken every particle of his being.

"Oliver, it's fine. You guys were in a _car accident,_ remember?" Digg says, from his position towards the entrance.

"He's right, Oliver, the blood could be from anything. Don't worry until there's reason to worry," Sara says, continuing to search the car.

What neither one of them understands is that, until she is back safe in his arms, unharmed, the only thing he'll be _able_ to do is worry.

…

_"Will you _please_ stop worrying? I mean, jeez, keep pacing like that and I'll start to think you have _no _faith in me…" Oliver was speaking in a teasing tone as he watched the blonde, who had been a flurry of activity and nerves for two hours, came to a screeching halt in front of him. She simply glared, before resuming her pattern of pacing._

_"I think the real question here is how _you're_ staying so calm. I mean, this is your last shot to like, I don't, _woo_ the crowd, or whatever the hell you billionaire types do, and then poof."_

_"Poof?" Oliver asked, more out of amusement than interest._

_"Yes. Poof. Because guess what. You give your speech, people watch it on TV and what not, and then everyone goes and they vote. And while they're voting, they're gonna base their decision off of whatever opinion is freshest in their minds. So you sure as hell better make a good impression."_

_"Have you met me?" He asked, an extremely fake smile in place._

_"I have," Felicity said, instantly pausing her movements, her face softening as she turned to him. "and that's the problem, Oliver. Because I know… everything. Or, at least most of everything. So I know what an insanely good guy you are, no matter how hard you try to convince yourself otherwise. But they don't know any of that, they _can't _know any of that. So they have no way to trust that you really are the good guy that you are about to go out there and 'pretend' to be, with you're winning smile and you're charming tactics. There's just… there's a chance that they won't buy it, and it sucks, because there's nothing to buy. It's all true, and they'll never know what they're passing up on." She finished with a shrug, breaking the moment by returning to her pacing before he had the chance to respond._

_It always seemed like she was doing that to him, dropping revealing truths about the status of his life that completely flipped his current perspective, only to go on living as if she hadn't said anything._

_"2 minutes Mr. Queen," came the voice of one of the campaign managers as she ducked her head into the small room designated for his prep._

_Felicity instantly froze, leveling her gaze with Oliver's._

_"I know that you don't really _need _this. I mean, you could lose and our lives would pretty much go on unaffected. But is it so wrong to think that it's _right? _Because it feels right, it feels like you've… earned this or something. I just don't want that feeling be for nothing, ya know?"_

_He opened his mouth to respond, but instead he watched as she walked into his personal space, reaching up to straighten his tie, before her hands fell to the lapels of his jacket. The room was absolutely silent, and only the faint rumblings of the crowd could be heard in the background. His hand naturally fell to her hip as she stretched up on her toes, first placing a faint kiss on his cheek before whispering 'good luck' in his ear. It wasn't a sexual act, it was one derived of pride and intimacy that their relationship represented. _

_She stepped away, turning to face the other direction as they came to get him. He could barely catch a glimpse of her profile as he was ushered out of the room._

_At the last moment, he saw a small smile on her lips, and it was that, more than anything, that motivated him to go onto the stage and do his best._

_…_

He knew Sara was doing her best, but the lack of progress over the past hour was weighing heavily on the atmosphere of the lair, and it is beginning to drive Oliver insane.

He is currently sitting in a chair, his leg jumping up and down, while watching several different camera feeds, looking for… Well, he doesn't really know what he is looking for, but he would be lying if his heart didn't stop for a moment every time there was a flash of blonde hair amongst the people on the streets.

His ears perk up when the telltale rumble of the garage carries through the lair. Oliver tenses and looks to Digg just as the cement wall lowers into the ground, eliminating the barrier between the two spaces. Both men relax as a very distraught Roy storms through the passageway.

"Are you guys freaking kidding me?" He shouts, looking between Oliver and Digg. "I know you two like to frequently ignore my existence on this team, but hearing about everything on the 10:00 o' clock news? Really guys? Really?" He is moving around animatedly, offering Sara a small nod of 'hello' before returning his glare to the men in the room.

Digg stifles a laugh while Oliver rolls his eyes at the theatrics of it all.

"I must have forgotten to call you. Sorry, junior," Digg finally replies.

"Ha ha, very funny. God, you guys suck…" he mutters.

The next ten minutes are spent with Oliver, Digg, and Sara each filling in Roy on where they're at. Oliver is almost touched at the insistent look of concern playing beneath Roy's guarded exterior, reminding him that everyone on this team shares an extreme affection for the missing girl.

"Hey, man, I know this is probably pretty low on your list of priorities, but are you planning on holding a press conference or anything? Because on the news there was a lot of confusion about where you are and what's going on… So you may want to consider remedying that pretty fast before people start to think you were taken to," Roy says, looking at Oliver insistently.

"Roy's right, man. You really do need to take a mayoral stance on the situation at some point, before things get out of control," Diggle states in agreement.

"Plus, I won't have results for these fiber samples for at least two hours. Now would probably be the best time to do it." Sara says, from her makeshift laboratory set up at one of the tables.

Oliver is hesistant. He doesn't like the idea of committing to his 'public persona' with all that is going on, but, at the same time, he knows that this is his responsibility. It has been ever since he was elected mayor.

Within an hour, due to very little effort on his own part, Oliver is standing in front of a sea of flashing cameras and questioning reporters. He waves his hand to calm down the frenzied audience, before speaking.

…

_Oliver freezes for a moment in front of the intimidating arena, but then he sees Felicity as she sneaks into one of the seats in the front, and when she sees him, she gives a small thumbs-up. From there, it seems like he can't stop talking._

_He reiterates his more substantial stances on various political issues, occasionally making jokes that earn him a laugh from the crowd._

_It was when he caught Felicity's eye towards the end of his time on stage that things shifted. Something snapped within him, and just like the first night when he kissed Felicity, it was as if a force rendered him uncontrollable of his own decisions._

_"You know what, Starling, I need to be honest with you," he starts. "In fact, I should have been honest with you a long time ago." _

_He'll never know what compelled him to do it, and as the words tumbled out, he was shocked by his own actions. But once he started, he realized there was no way to take it back, that his only optionwas to be honest with the public, while still maintaining some anonymity for his true identity._

_"For the past two years, I have been… working in alliance with the vigilante figure that you all have come to know as The Arrow." He paused as an audible gasp made it way through the crowd. He looked to Felicity, whose mouth had taken on the shape of a perfect 'o', before he continued._

_"I know there are controversial perspectives on this masked man, but I refuse to agree with any of those for the benefit of my campaign. I am here to make known my support of his mission. There is no way for me to prove it, but regardless, I will attempt to reassure you that he, of all people, has the best interests of this city in mind. And if you choose to elect me, I would like to serve him as a platform for those interests, in an obviously different capacity. So, if you disagree with the information I'm presenting to you. If you distrust this hero in the night, then I must ask you not to vote for me, because I refuse to rescind the loyalty I have provided him with in these past years." _

_During his next pause, the arena was silent, and Oliver was proud to know that he had their attention._

_"But," he continued, and he could practically _feel_ each and every person intently hanging onto his words. "If you believe that it is possible for him to silently do good for this city with no selfish reward in mind, then I must ask you to trust that instinct and vote for me tonight. Because I intend to help him fulfill that devotion to this city, and I know that together, we could work to make this city into everything that it has the potential to be. Thank you, Starling."_

_The words were simple and honest, and yet he left behind a chaotic whirlwind of shouted questions and disorderly confusion. He chose not to respond to any of it as he stepped off of the stage and walked back into the holding room he had been in before._

_It was seconds before Felicity burst in, her face wild, a perfect symbol for how Oliver had left the audience._

_"You're insane, you know that?" Were her only words, as a smile crept onto her face._

_"I've been called worse…" He teased. "So you're not mad then?" he asked, unsure of how to gage her reaction._

_"Mad? No. Surprised? Yeah, absolutely. But definitely not mad." She said, before an abrupt giggle was brought to her lips. "I _cannot_ believe you just did that.," she said while shaking her head. "I mean, when you think about it, it kind of would have been a huge waste of opportunity, had you not. A tragedy, really."_

_…_

"Thank you all for coming here on such short notice." Oliver begins, talking directly to the small, intimate audience in front of him.

"As many of you know from the news, a tragedy occurred last the way home from the fundraiser at the Starling City Museum of Natural History, my car was hit and my girlfriend, Felicity Smoak, was taken. I am happy to report that I am in good health and I am ready to give my full attention to this investigation. It has been over 12 hours since the occurrence, and we still have little information on what happened. As expected, The Arrow is just as committed to the circumstances as I am, and as I hope all of you are. I plan to work alongside both him and the SCPD so that we can get her back safely." There is a desperation reaching into Oliver's tone as he speaks, and he knows that it perfectly mirrors his haggard appearance. What a sight he must be, a direct contrast from the strong man he was when he had originally taken up the position of Mayor. He no longer feels strong. He feels like he's falling apart.

"To the people of Starling," He continues, pleading. "I must ask for your cooperation throughout this time of struggle. If you have any information, I implore you to come forward, if not for my sake, then for Felicity's. She is an incredible women and she has done… she has done more than you know to fight for this city, so now I must ask that you all put in the same effort to fight for her. I honestly hope that, working together, we can put an end to this disaster that has the potential to become a very personal nightmare. Thank you."

He is off the stage quicker than he thought possible before getting in the car that Digg has waiting. His only thought as they drive back to the lair, it that the line between being the Mayor and The Arrow is becoming dangerously thin, and he truly hopes that the pressure to uphold both figures doesn't impede his ability to find her.


	5. Chapter 4

**AN: My sincerest apologies for the lack of an update last week. I've been busy between work, travel, and school, but that should all be calming down as we head into July. This chapter is the reason this fic is rated M, so be warned of sexy times. This is a new area for me, so constructive criticism is welcome. If you're one of the few awesome people that looks forward to updates, I'm gonna self-promo my tumblr (same account name). That's where you'll find little previews and updates on where I'm at... Enjoy lovely readers!**

When Oliver and Diggle get back to the lair, Sara is just finishing her testing. There had been the blood, along with some hair fibers and a partial fingerprint, each one offering substantial potential for identifying the abductor.

"Hey, good, you guys are back," Sara says as the two men enter into the space, each one seemingly more impatient from when they had left just over an hour ago.

"Please tell me you have news," Oliver pleads tersely, sending an exhausted glance in the direction of the blonde, who had moved from her scientific set up over to one of the computers.

"As a matter of fact, I do," she replies, causing Oliver's ears to perk up in response.

"Turns out the fingerprint was from the carjacker you two encountered, and the blood, well…" she trails off, not saying the words, but leaving the implication heavy in the air.

Felicity's. No one says it, but they all know she means the blood is Felicity's.

"But," she continues, cutting the tension that had settled in the room, "the hair fibers, those were someone else entirely. I have yet to identify the suspect, but that's most likely our guy," she finishes, her tone hopeful.

"Why haven't you been able to I.D. him yet?" Diggle intercedes, voicing Oliver's thoughts, both of them still skeptical of the news.

"That's the thing… The DNA isn't in any known system. Police records, forensic databases, I've checked all of it. Well, at least whatever is within my realm of capabilities, and they've all turned up empty. Either the guy doesn't have any priors, or he scrubbed himself from the system, which wouldn't be all that surprising considering the hacking abilities he has already displayed…"

"So, what now? What does this mean?" Oliver asks, an edge to his voice.

"Well, I passed along the DNA to my dad. That way, if it shows up at _any _other crime scene, it will give us a starting point on how to track this guy." Sara says, speaking in a slow, calming manner, an attempt to keep the new information positive.

"That's it? That's all we can do?" Oliver questions incredulously, projecting his frustration into the open space.

"Unfortunately, that seems to be the best path of action at the moment."

"That's not a plan of action, Sara. That's a plan of waiting. Waiting while some lunatic does god knows what to Fel-"

"Hey man, calm down. We're all on the same team here. Sara's just trying to help," It surprises everyone that Roy is the one to jump to Sara's defense, and the shock is enough to calm Oliver down.

"I need some air," he mutters, feeling suddenly confined in the underground hideout. Stumbling back towards the stairs, the three other occupants of the lair stare after him, concern plaguing their eyes as he opts to isolate himself. After all, there's only one person who has ever really been capable of helping him deal with his demons, and without her, it's like he's condemned to an island all over again.

…

_"I'm gonna grab some air real quick," Felicity whispered to Digg in the campaign office where they were awaiting the results of the election, various TV's tuned into the several different news stations that were broadcasting the event._

_The area was a flurry of commotion. From the entire campaign team to the various one-percenters who had lent their support to Oliver's candidacy, the place was bordering on claustrophobic._

_Weaving a path through the masses, Felicity made her way into one of the private conference rooms that was unoccupied, softly closing the door shut behind her. The room was dark, allowing the luminous lights of the city to dance along the floor to ceiling windows._

_She stood there by the glass, allowing herself to relax while she admired the city that they had been relentlessly working to save for over two years now._

_When she heard the door open and the resulting chatter of the people on the other side, she turned to see Oliver walking across the threshold, before closing it behind him, restoring the sanctuary to it's state of privacy._

_"Hey," he said softly, the tone suiting the intimate space. _

_"Hi," she responded, offering him a sheepish smile before turning back towards the view of the city. He could just barely make out her reflection across the room._

_"Sorry," she continued, "I didn't mean to ditch or anything. It just got kind of crowded out there and I needed a beat to catch my breath."_

_"I know the feeling," he responded while walking over to take a place by her side._

_They were quiet for some time, each one comfortable to let their minds rest from the exhausting 24 hours they had experienced._

_Oliver's reveal that he had been 'working with' The Arrow had sent the campaign team into quite the tizzy, and they had been running damage control ever since in preparation for the election. _

_It had been tiring, but also worth it considering the information was the only opportunity for Oliver to make an impressive impact among the people of Starling. It was quite possibly the only thing that would give him an edge against his opponent. The decision had been a risky one, but he was hopeful it would turn out in his favor._

_"Are you nervous?" She whispered it like a secret, barely breaking the silence that had settled between the two._

_"I was, but not anymore," Oliver responded in the same secretive tone, as if she was the only person in the world that he would ever entrust with such vulnerable information. "It seems as if whatever needs to happen will. If I'm elected, then that's great and I really believe that it will offer me the opportunity to do a lot for this city. But if I'm not? It's not like… It's not like I'm losing anything. I'll still have Diggle and the hood and… you. That's all I really need right now. I'll always be happy to continue with this life I've built. Being Mayor would just be a bonus." _

_She let out a hum of understanding and nodded quietly, deep in her own thoughts. It was one of her qualities that he didn't have enough appreciation for; Regardless of how much she talked, she also understood silence. It didn't haunt her like it did for so many. Like it did for him. Although, with her, he found that the solitude of his own mind was not nearly as threatening._

_"You should probably get back out there," she said quietly after some time, and he looked to find that she was still studying the city, her eyes distanced. It bothered him that he couldn't manage to get a read on her thoughts._

_"Just a little longer," he sighed, the plea leaving his lips before he had a chance to stop it. He could see her nodding in his peripheral line of vision, an soundless agreement. _

_So they stood there, shoulders brushing, the only sound being made their long, drawn out breaths._

_Finally, Diggle cracked open the door, jolting them from their trance._

_"Oliver, it's almost time," he said with a nod to both of them, no longer surprised by the close relationship between the two._

_He left them standing there, their last moment of peace together before they braved the loud crowd and bright lights._

_"Shall we?" He asked, sweeping a hand in front of him, a gesture that indicated she should lead the way._

_"We shall," she replied and, as she stepped to leave, he followed closely behind, his palm falling naturally to the small of her back, remaining there until they stepped back out into the harsh, intensely lit offices, ready to face their new reality._

_…_

Oliver struggles to face their current reality, disappointed and frustrated with their circumstance of inactivity. He doesn't travel far from the lair, ending up on some rooftop that gives him a decent perspective of the city, the breeze freeing him of his sense of confinement. His thoughts are a mess and he can't sift through the overwhelming amount of information that's racing through his mind.

Somehow, he finds himself dialing her number. His heart breaks with each hollow ring, and he hangs up when it expectedly goes to her voice mail, afraid that her detached, perfectly content voice will destroy him completely.

It's not planned, but he finds himself scrolling through his contacts, reaching out to another woman in his life more out of a selfish need for support than her personal benefit.

This time, he let's the phone roll over to voicemail.

"_Hey, you've reached Thea Queen. I'm either choosing not to answer your call or somewhere in Europe _so_ marvelous that cell service is nonexistent. Leave a message and I'll make the choice of whether or not you're worthy of a callback."_

"Hey, Thea." Oliver starts after the beep, his voice already shaky. "It's Oliver. I umm, I know it's been a while, but something… something happened to Felicity." He's practically choking on the words now, one of his fists bracing him against the cement barrier at the edge of the roof. "Someone took her Thea, and I don't…. I can't-" He pulls the phone away from him and allows one sob to escape before he takes a deep breath, refocusing his thoughts. "Anyway, I just thought you might want to know. I'm uhh" he chuckles "I'm kind of a mess and I just wanted to tell you that I love you and I miss you. I hope you're safe. Take care of yourself, okay?" He hangs up the call before he surrenders to the temptations of his demons, wholly and completely, and fiddles with the phone before tucking it back into the inside of his suit. He doesn't really know why he called her, but he does know that the past two days have taught him the importance of singling out those you love from the sea of people existing in this universe, making sure to take every opportunity to hold them close, because it's impossible to predict the moment in time that they may be removed from your life, tragically and without warning.

…

_Oliver stood amongst the sea of people, watching tensely as the votes came in. He was currently ahead, but he refused to welcome the excitement of victory, knowing that nothing was official until all of the votes were accounted for._

_Next to him, Felicity was practically bouncing, full of nervous energy. He eventually couldn't handle the anxiety that was rolling off of her in waves, and he reached over to place a calming hand on her shoulder. He planned to pull it away after her mumbled apology, but he just couldn't find the strength to break the contact, opting to leave it there while they waited, the connection offering both of them support._

_They watched the election play out, and Oliver kept expecting for his name to fall behind his opponent's, but every time the other candidate began to close the gap between them, Oliver would receive a burst of votes, pushing him back into the lead. _

_The room was near silent as the final votes came in and, finally, the newscaster's voice filled the space with the results._

_"After a long, tedious night, it seems that the city has spoken. After receiving the majority vote, Oliver Queen will serve as the new Mayor of Starling."_

_It was a simple phrase, yet it held the ability to set the room into chaos. There were cheers and applause, but Oliver remained stiff, shocked, and uncertain. After seconds of him staring at the TV in disbelief, Felicity flung her arms around his neck, and he finally allowed himself to break out into a smile, fully comprehending what had just happened._

_He softened into her embrace, his arms wrapping tightly around her small torso, practically lifting her off the floor. She could feel his smile spread as he pressed his face into her shoulder, and she knew then that no matter how convincing he was in saying he didn't need this, it was all a lie. He was the type to persuade himself into thinking that he didn't deserve good fortune, and she was happy that the universe was slowly proving him wrong._

_He eventually sighed into her skin as he loosened his grip, and before she knew it, he was off fulfilling his responsibilities. She watched while he shook the hands of donators and patted the backs of devoted team members._

_He mesmerized her when he entered this kind of state, one marked by power, influence, and control. She tried to snap herself out of it, knowing that she was once again seeing him in a dangerously attractive light. Then again, her feelings really weren't the issue. No, the hardest part of their relationship at the moment was that she didn't know how _he_ saw _her. _She had no concept of what he wanted out of their connection, and it was becoming exponentially more frustrating with every passing day._

_Eventually, he caught her eye, once again breaking into a goofy smile, slowly winking at her before returning to his business._

_She didn't know what it all meant, the kisses and the stares. She didn't know how to process the changes in their relationship, and it terrified her. One thing she did know was that she needed to be careful, to protect her heart, before he consumed her altogether._

_…_

Oliver's heart hurts as he steps back into the lair. There is a small, irrational part of him that expects her to just be there, swinging her legs while sitting on the medical table, wincing as Digg patched up a small cut, her only injury. He chances a glance in the general direction, a fleeting hope that she will just once again be magically present in his life, turning around to give him an earth-shattering smile. Instead, the area is miserably unoccupied.

Looking at his watch, he notes that it has been about two hours since he left. He knows he can't go out and patrol until he has the cover of night, and the prospect of going to the Mayor's office makes him sick, which means more unbearable waiting. Everyone is idly working on his or her own tasks. Sara is at the computers, investigating various databases. Roy is working on the training mats while Diggle observes and critiques his form.

It's a very normal picture, as if it's just another day of business as usual, and the setting confuses him. It's extremely concerning seeing them in this state. The stillness of it all feels like defeat, and that is a concept that Oliver refuses to wrap his head around.

An hour later, Digg and Roy go to pick them up some dinner, leaving him with Sara. With just the two of them, the lair becomes a pathetically silent entity, and it begins to drive him a bit insane.

"I can't keep doing this, Sara," he says through the dense atmosphere, running a hand roughly through his hair. "I'm going to go crazy if we don't get a lead soon, I just…" his voice breaks and he's at a loss for words.

"I know," is her only response, eliminating the need for him to explain himself. "You look exhausted, you should really try to squeeze in a few minutes of sleep. You're of no use to her if you don't take care of yourself."

He shakes his head, still unable to bear the idea of drifting into an unconscious without Felicity by his side, with no awareness of her location or condition.

"Not right now," he says, despite the headache that is becoming more and more persistent. "Maybe after I patrol tonight."

She gives a disapproving look, but doesn't argue, and Oliver is grateful that, for now, he won't need to face waking up without _her._

…

_Felicity was just about to go to sleep when she heard the knocking on her door._

_It was almost two in the morning and it had only been an hour since she had said her goodbyes to Oliver at the campaign office, so she was surprised to open her door and find him standing there on her porch. He was still wearing his suit from earlier that night, a sign that he hadn't been home, while she stood in front of him feeling inappropriately underdressed in just leggings and her worn out, grey MIT sweatshirt._

_"Oliver," she said, uncertain of what to make of his presence._

_"Hi," he said smoothly. "I hope it's okay I'm here. I just left the offices and I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep and I sort of just…. ended up here." She stared at him while he talked, until he raised an eyebrow, and she realized that she was blocking the doorway._

_"Umm yeah, of course. Of course it's okay that you're here. Sorry, come on in," she said, finally moving out of the way so that he could step inside._

_Oliver smiled looking around her townhome, recognizing how very 'Felicity' it was. _

_"Sorry about the pajamas," she muttered as she moved to pull two wine glasses from her cabinet. She was about to grab a bottle of wine from her fridge, when his voice halted her actions._

_"It's just me, Felicity," he chuckled, somewhat amused by her formalities._

_"Sorry," she said, a beautiful blush staining her cheeks. "I just, I wasn't expecting you and now I'm flustered, is all."_

_He watched her, a smile playing on his lips as he moved to stand next to her, leaning against her island, side by side. It was when he bumped his hip with hers, their shoulders brushing, that she put space between them, sighing his name._

_"What?" he asked innocently. She looked up at him, trying to decipher his intentions that he seemed to keep buried deeper than the stories of Lian Yu._

_"Do you even realize you're doing it? Or is it just some weird reflex?" she questioned, her bright blue eyes searching his face over, watching as his brow creased in confusion._

_"What do you mean…" he trailed on, not sure what to make of her inquiry._

_"You are so… _frustrating_, my god." She said, as she ran a hand through her hair. "Let me tell you something, you don't talk. Like, ever. You never explain what you're thinking. You take what you want and you act on instinct, rarely giving thought to the ramifications. So while I'm over here analyzing every kiss and touch and longing stare, you get to go on with your life as if nothing has changed between us." She was out of breath when her voice dropped to a whisper, staring down at the floor, avoiding his gaze. "I am _not_ the type of girl to get into a casual relationship and I refuse to pine after someone who doesn't see me the same way. So I can't admit my feelings to myself until I know yours. Not knowing where you stand is driving me insane, and I don't know how much longer I can play this game with no measure of whether we're on the same page or not."_

_He stared at her incredulously after her rant, before bending down and bringing his lips to her, eliciting a small gasp from the irate blonde._

_"I apologize. I thought I had made myself perfectly clear," he whispered against her lips. "I want you. I only want you."_

_At the words, she was smiling, but her lips were quickly disrupted by the attention of his. What had started as tender quickly became something much more desperate, something breaking between them after months of holding back, each for their own reasons._

_Oliver's hands gripped her hips tightly, and he turned he, pressing her back into the kitchen counter._

_They were about as close as they could get while their lips explored the other's, but it wasn't enough, and it wasn't long before Oliver lifted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist. He began walking them through the living space, and he picked one of the two hallways. He was proud to know he picked the right one when they stumbled through a doorway that opened to what was undoubtedly Felicity's room._

_He carefully sat down on the edge of the bed with her straddling his lap. He kissed her with every sentiment of adoration, as she moved against him. It was with tenderness that he pushed up her hoodie, his fingers trailing up the smooth expanse of flesh he was uncovering. _

_He quickly realized that she only had a bra on underneath, and his pause of uncertainty resulted in her lifting her arms above her head, an invitation for him to remove the sweatshirt that he eagerly accepted. _

_He smiled at her, his heart swelling with affection for the small blonde, as he bent to kiss up the center of her chest, landing on prominent point of her collarbone. _

_She was quiet as she nudged his suit jacket off his shoulder, and that was the next item of clothing to go. _

_She worked swiftly to undo his loosened tie and unbuttoned his dress shirt with focused determination, despite the distraction of his lips on her neck, his teeth working the flesh into a red mess, marks that would certainly still be present the next day. _

_He looked up at her and maintained eye contact as he reached to undo her bra, causing a blush to spread from her forehead to her chest, one of the most adorable things he had ever seen._

_Knowing he had her permission, he returned to his ministrations on her neck, as he pulled the straps off her shoulders, discarding the garment on the floor._

_Without breaking contact, he swiftly flipped them over, helping her back towards the pillows._

_She ran a hand along his jaw, her fingers scratching at his stubble before easing his lips back to hers. As his tongue ran along hers, he pressed himself closer and closer to her, unashamed of his very apparent need._

_That need grew when her small hands worked on his belt buckle. She was able to push the fabric off his hips, but her progress was stopped there, so he stood to rid himself of the clothing, taking off his boxer briefs along with the pants._

_She couldn't stop herself from taking him in, a hunger playing beneath her eyes that he could just barely register in the dark room, something she was grateful for._

_He crawled back over her, moving to suck on her hip bone while slowly pulling her leggings down the lengths of her legs, leaving her scrap of lacy fabric that sufficed as underwear in place._

_After pulling them off, he worked his way back up her legs, placing a kiss just above her knee, a spot that was apparently rather sensitive considering her response was covering her face with her hands, a small giggle escaping her lips._

_He moved back up to hover over her, and gently peeled her hands away._

_"Hey," he said softly, a smile on his lips while his eyes searched over her flushed features._

_"Hi," she whispered back, her voice cracking. Her tone of nervousness would have scared him had it not been for the fact the he knew it was just a result of unnecessary embarrassment._

_"You doing okay?" He asked, brushing her hair off of her forehead, tucking it behind her ear._

_"Mmhmm," she hummed contently, giving him the confidence to pull her lips back to his._

_The tension between them grew as their kissing became more insistent. He allowed his fingers to explore her soft skin while hers pulled on the hairs at the nape of his neck, sending shivers down his spine. When her teeth dragged deliciously across his bottom lip, he ground himself into her._

_"Felicity…" he exhaled her name, a warning that he wouldn't be able to control himself much longer._

_"Condom. Bedside table." She said, while attempting to catch her breath, but he remained in place. _

_"We can slow down. We don't need to do this tonight" he said, a ridiculous declaration considering how far they had already gone, but it still caused a flutter in her stomach to know that this wasn't just physical for either of them. _

_"No. I want this," she said, raking her fingers down his back. It reassured him that her timid nature thus far did not equate to uncertainty._

_He pressed a kiss to her temple before leaning over towards the bedside table. She bit her bottom lip, diverting her eyes towards the ceiling while he rolled the condom onto his hard length. _

_When he was done, he leaned back down, placing his lips to the shell of her ear._

_"We're going to have to work on this whole shyness act," he mumbled, before pressing kisses back down her neck, his thumbs teasing her breasts, causing her breath to hitch. _

_"Gentle reminder that I haven't done this as many times as you," she stated quietly, her heart rate accelerating as he pressed against her center._

_"Duly noted," he responded, but it wasn't condescending, it was sincere and endearing, his eyes soft and loving as they met hers with understanding. He maintained the contact as he slipped his pointer finger through the elastic of her thong, and slowly began dragging it south. She forced herself to meet his eyes, despite the pink color that flooded her cheeks. Once the fabric was far enough down her legs, she kicked it to the floor, leaving the two of them bare before each other. She gasped when he ran a finger along her seam, feeling her wetness. _

_"Oliver," she moaned in a soft sigh, her eyes fluttering closed._

_"Hey," he said, running his other thumb along her cheekbone, an encouragement for her to open her eyes. "Are you _sure_?" he asked. Maybe it was a result of treating girls like toys throughout his youth, but he felt a need to give her complete control of the situation, not wanting to ruin the relationship that they had put so much care into._

_She couldn't find the words to respond, because of course she was sure. After all of the hesitation, this moment, with him looking down at her like _that_, it proved to her how right they were together_. _So instead, she nodded, pulling at his neck to guide his lips back to hers._

_Everything was slow and steady as he pushed into her entrance, the pace torturing both of them. _

_"Shit, Felicity," he muttered against her shoulder in response to her tightness. It took all of his focus to hold back, determined to give her time to adjust to their apparent differences in size, wanting to make this as pleasurable for her as possible. He knew she was ready when she rocked her hips against his, releasing a whimper that she would have been ashamed of under different circumstances._

_He tested the waters, practically pulling all the way out before slowly easing himself back in, stopping when he felt he'd reached her limit. He repeated this cycle over and over until she helped him to set a rhythm, impatient with the slow pace._

_They were both panting as they began moving together, a seductive dance, and Oliver was pleased with each new sound she made, cataloguing the music into his brain._

_He grabbed one of her knees, hitching it up onto his hip, changing the angle. The new point of penetration caused her to cry out as the build up to her release became tantalizingly painful._

_"Come on, Felicity. You're so close," he whispered the encouragement breathily into her ear as their movements became more erratic, both of them spiraling towards their finish._

_He lips hovered over hers as she tensed. He pushed into her one, two, three more times, before they tumbled over the edge together. He rode with her through her release, before they both slowed their actions, sated and secure in their dark corner of the world. _

_Silence filled the room as he pressed a kiss to her forehead, her ear, her lips, showering her with adoration. He stayed buried inside of her, not ready to part, not ready to let go of how good it felt to finally be with her._

_He gently rolled them over so that she was lying flush to his chest, her eyes hooded. _

_"Wow," was the only coherent thought he could manage, causing her lips to lift in a lazy smile as she pressed a kiss to his Bratva tattoo. _

_He kissed her forehead after some time before pulling out of her, smiling in response the small whine she released. He slipped out from underneath her and went to her bathroom, disposing of the condom and wiping himself off, before returning to her dim bedroom, finding her wrapped in the sheets, half asleep. He climbed back into bed, and she automatically returned to her position on his chest sleepily. He traced his fingers up and down her spine, from the tip of her neck to the base of her back and he listened as she hummed contentedly._

_He felt the vibrations on his neck as her lips formed a smile._

_"What's with the silliness going on down there?" He asked, a mix of humor and curiosity while he toyed with errant strands of her hair._

_There was a moment of silence before she responded._

_"I'm just happy," she said quietly, nuzzling her face even deeper into the crook of his neck, while his arm tightened around her waist. The way she said it made him both euphoric and somber. It was as if she was afraid she was going to jinx this, as if she thought it might get taken away from her, as if it was too good to be true. _

_He knew that would be a conversation for another day. He understood that it would take time to convince her that he would do everything within his power to stay, a contrast to her past of abandonment that he still knew too little about._

_That night, he settled for tilting up her chin so that he could kiss her. They continued like that until the exhaustion from the day caught up with them at the late hour, and at that point, they drifted into a restful sleep. Felicity first, followed closely by Oliver, her puffs of breath against his neck easing him into unconscious. They were tangled together so closely that it was impossible to tell where one began and the other ended, and they stayed that way through the dark hours of the night, neither one disturbed by the evil spirits that usually haunted them after the sun went down._

_…_

The sun is just going down when Diggle and Roy return with their orders from Big Belly Burger. Oliver picks at his meal, not really tasting anything. As soon as he consumes enough to be considered nutritional, he silently goes to gear up in his leathers, rejecting the idea of wasting more time just sitting in the lair.

He isn't surprised when Diggle and Roy join him, and this time he doesn't put up a fight. Sara stays behind to cover comms and intercept any incoming news.

It isn't long before he's exiting the garage on his motorcycle, trying to think of a place to start. They decide that the Glades is the most logical option, considering that's where the van interaction occurred.

The night is a mess that consists of him questioning any random street thugs they come across. There is no method to his madness, and he can feel the judgment rolling off of his observant partners as he aims an arrow at the fifth potential witness of the evening, taking his aggression out on the uninvolved scum of the city.

It isn't until the seventh one that they hit a break.

When Oliver describes the situation to the man, there is a beat of hope instilled in his heart, because unlike all the others, this man is snapping his fingers, a sign that he knows what he is talking about.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he rattles off quickly, relieved that he can give the ominous hooded silhouette what he wants. "Now that you mention it, I did see something kind of strange the other night. Big tall dude yanking a girl out of a van. I don't know if that's your chick, her head was covered, which is why the situation stuck out to me. I seen some pretty bad things in this town, but that was downright hostile."

"Can you describe the man?" Oliver asks, his tone betrayed by the anticipation in his voice.

"Ugh yeah yeah, I didn't get a good look cause you know, it's always best to mind your own business when you see something shady going on around here, but here's what I can tell you. Tall lanky guy, not super bulky. Had brown shaggy hair and looked like one of them crazies, you know, paranoid and talking to himself."

"Anything else?" Oliver manages to say through his tightly clenched jaw.

"Well, he definitely had a gun." The man shrugs, as if it's an insignificant detail.

"Where'd he take her?" Roy interjects, asking the important question on Oliver's behalf.

"I wasn't very invested in the details, but I saw him put her in a small beat up car, sort of a beige color. Everything was happening by 6th and Lexington, and he must have driven her south from what I could tell, but like I was saying, I wasn't real invested in the details."

Oliver doesn't even bother to lend his thanks as the team moves quickly from the alleyway, and soon they are racing back to the lair.

"Sara, did you get all of that?" Oliver asks over the comms.

"Already on it," she replies efficiently.

Oliver urgently rides his bike through the streets of the city, rushing in the direction of their first substantial evidence. Everything is going fine as he pushes his bike faster and faster in the direction of the lair. That is, until the ground seemingly tilts beneath him, completely distorting his perspective. The road in front of him becomes blurry and he loses his sense of equilibrium as his bike seemingly disappears beneath him. The last thing he feels is his shoulder taking the brunt of his fall before he goes unconscious for the second time in 48 hours.


	6. Chapter 5

**AN: There is really no excuse for why this update is so late... It came down to a lack of time, inspiration, and motivation, and I sincerely hope that it never takes me this long again. This chapter is a bit shorter, but there's a lot of 'necessary' things happening that will help further the story later on. I'm really struggling with this story lately, so any and all commentary is very welcome and appreciated. Also, the majority of the edits were done very late at night, so I apologize for any mistakes. Thank you all for reading and enjoy!**

He doesn't have a grasp on where he is, but it's a push and pull between perfection and absolute discomfort. He wants to stay in this place. It's bright, and it reminds him of a Sunday morning in bed with a sheet of blonde on his chest and the sun warm through the window. It's nice, and quiet, and built of soft edges, but he can already feel that he is slowly being pulled away. He's trying to concentrate, so that he can stay, but there's a twinge in his shoulder and a cold slab beneath him and none of it feels right. As he becomes more aware, these distractions of pain are enough to pull him from the strange limbo.

He sits up with a start, alert and searching as he gulps down quick breaths. It doesn't take long for him to comprehend that he's on a metal table in the lair, surrounded by carts of their various medical supplies.

"Whoa there buddy, take it easy," Diggle says, rushing over and pushing on Oliver's chest to keep him from completely leaping from the table.

"Wh-what happened," Oliver stutters, still struggling to get his breathing under control after being startled awake.

"You were a self-sacrificing dummy and went out trying to be the hero. Even with a concussion," Sara says from her stance at his feet, obviously irritated. She had, after all, been the one to tell him he needed sleep.

"You uhh, passed out and lost control of your bike. Messed up your shoulder pretty bad," Digg says, only slightly more sympathetic towards his friend, while nodding in the direction of his injury.

Oliver contorts his upper body with a grimace to get a look at his right shoulder, which is thoroughly bandaged. He tests out the movement, and is able to conclude that there's nothing broken, but there is definitely some severe bruising and tenderness, maybe even some damage to the ligaments, something that will certainly degrade his ability to shoot arrows.

"Concussion, really?" Oliver asks, returning his focus to the others, and the tone of incredulity is unbelievable to the rest of the team considering the car accident he was in just two nights ago, the evidence of which is still visible along his hairline. Diggle nods before offering whatever information he can on his personal diagnosis.

"At least from what I can tell. It seems to be very mild, but we still really should have taken you to the hospital. But that was a little difficult with the pressing issue of your identity… So here we are. You _gotta_ take it easy man, we're doing everything we can and we need to be focused on Felicity, which means you need to be responsible for yourself, okay? That means when your body is telling you to slow down, you slow down."

With three pairs of eyes all looking at him pointedly, Oliver slowly pushes himself to the edge of the table, biting the inside of his cheek as he puts weight on his shoulder. Finally he stands up, taking a moment to steady himself.

"Yeah, see? All better. Now, how long have I been out? What have we learned?"

Diggle rolls his eyes at his partner, but he also know that this is the best he'll get out of the stubborn man, so he nods before leading the way to the computer bank, the other occupants trailing behind him.

"You were only out for about two hours, and in that time, we were able to locate the street camera footage from 6th and Lexington, which basically shows exactly what was described to us," Diggle hits play on the footage that begins to roll, and keeps talking about some of the finer points, but his voice becomes white noise as Oliver leans in the study the fuzzy pixels moving on the screen.

He watches as the black van jerkily pulls into a dark, shadowy space between the parking lot of a convenience store and an apartment building. It must have just been before midnight, because it was still raining outside, further obscuring the already low quality footage and leaving the street eerily vacant. He observes as a tall figure climbs out of the car, rather ungracefully, before moving to open the trunk. Oliver takes note that the man's face is untraceable, a result of the baseball cap and hoody he has firmly pulled into place. When he opens the trunk, Oliver can barely make out her figure. Her head is covered in a sac and her hands are tightly bound with what looks to be a zip tie. Oliver is confused, considering Digg had taught her how to break out of such bindings, but then he remembers the small pool of blood they had found in the trunk, and her hunched over posture makes it all clear.

She is hurt. She is tired. She is defenseless.

At the sight of her, there is one thing that pains him over the rest. She's still wearing the dress from the gala. It looks a little more worn, but it's still exactly what he remembers, and it makes for a severe realization, reminding him of when this scene actually took place and just how long it's been since he last saw her

He clenches every muscle in his body as the man nudges what Oliver knows is a gun into her abdomen before yanking her up, hauling her from the vehicle. She stumbles, barely able to hold herself up as the man quickly walks her to a car that is parked on the edge of the adjacent parking lot. The man's lips are close to her ear, undoubtedly whispering toxins and lies into her being, and Oliver wants to pull her right out of the screen, to hold her close and remind her that she is stronger than all of this. He puts her in the backseat of the vehicle, and Oliver says a small prayer of thanks that he doesn't force her back into a trunk. And then, there's a pause, one where a syringe is pushed into her arm, and Oliver is about to go mad that there is nothing he can do to stop it. He's completely transfixed with the scene as the man starts the car, pulling out of the lot and driving south, exactly as the witness had attested to earlier in the evening. And just like that, she's gone.

"… the quality of video is preventing us from getting a read on the license plate, but we put an APB out for a vehicle that matches the make and model. We might just get lucky. We were also able to trace them for about 10 blocks through various street cameras, but then he turned down a few back roads and we lost the trail from there. Oliver? You with us?"

Oliver turns to see his friends in a loose semi-circle around him, waiting for his reaction. He looks to Diggle, hoping he'll continue, but instead the man seems to be waiting for Oliver's direction, arms crossed with one eyebrow raised in question.

"We uhh… well we should. We could-" He freezes, staring ahead blankly. He doesn't know what to say. Doesn't know where to start. All he knows is his stomach still hasn't recovered from the sight of Felicity so small, helpless, and undoubtedly terrified. Before he knows it, his heart is heavy in his ears, and he is moving across the floor, swiftly emptying the contents of his stomach into a small trash. He stays bent over, suddenly feeling like there is no strength left in his muscles, the silence of the space resonating in his ears and the discomfort of the motionless air causing him to break into a cool sweat.

He wipes his mouth, as heavy footfalls approach him. Diggle lowers himself down to his level, talking in a whisper that they both know the others can hear in the hollow space.

"I'm not screwing around man. Your body is under a lot of stress trying to keep up with all of this, and you need sleep."

"I'm _fine,_ Digg," Oliver bites out, not meeting his eyes, not wanting Digg to see the vulnerability and fatigue that his own would surely portray. How could he feel this tired after two hours of sleep? Or was passing out from a concussion not merited as sleep?

"We'll take shifts so we can all rest and we'll wake you the moment something comes up," Digg continues insistently, not meriting Oliver's argument with any recognition.

"Diggle…" Oliver warns, prepared to unleash all of his pent up frustration and uncertainty on his brother in arms.

"Oliver." Diggle breaks in before he has the chance, and his tone is commanding, a nod to his past in combat. It is difficult to make Oliver feel belittled, but in that moment, the authoritative tone has him cowering, feeling like an absolute child, completely lost in the world. He's unraveling at the seams, and she's not there to help him keep it together, and he doesn't know what's right anymore. He just needs her back, he needs her voice to tell him it will all be okay, but he is also giving into the exhaustion that comes with grasping at threads that aren't there, and he hates himself for being so cowardly. For slowly giving up.

…

_Oliver woke up knowing something was not right. It was not necessarily something wrong, but instead a pleasant change from the norm. It didn't take him long to realize that the implication of change was the fact that he was in Felicity's bed and not his own._

_As he took stock of their circumstance, he smiled into her shoulder. Her back was pressed against his front, his arm slung protectively across her abdomen. It was still fairly dark in her room, but the navy haze of morning was just starting to peak through the curtains, allowing him to appreciate her sleeping form._

_At some point in the night, her feet had wandered between his calves, tangling their legs into a complete mess. She was sleeping soundly, exhaling in small huffs that somehow instilled a sense of peace into his very soul. It hit him suddenly that he wanted this always. He wanted to wake up every morning with her tucked into his side, both of them rested from a sleep free of demons and the things that haunted their pasts. He finally had her, and he never wanted to let her go, not so long as she wanted him there._

_After some time, he reluctantly lifted his head to check the alarm clock on the bedside table, and was instantly irritated to see numbers that proved he needed to get going, wishing they could have all the time in the world to appreciate the significance of last night._

_"Felicity," he whispered in her ear after brushing her hair off her face, trailing his fingers up and down her arm._

_She stirred slightly, but didn't wake, so he repeated the action._

_"Felicity," he said one more time, not necessarily louder, but instead closer to her ear, his forehead resting on her temple._

_"Too early, go back to bed," she whined and he couldn't hold back the bubble of laughter that rose to his lips. The vibrations tickled her skin and seemed to shift her into consciousness as she rotated to look up at him, pulling the sheet to her chest in an adorable show of modesty._

_"Oliver…" she said, her eyes squinting in the darkness as she processed his presence._

_"Hi," he said, a smile on his lips as he bent down to kiss her. It was gentle, but it served as affirmation of everything that had transpired over the past hours, days, months, building up to the undefined state they currently occupied. He could sense her sleepy haze in the motion of their lips, and he soon pulled away, nudging his forehead against hers._

_"I… have to go," he said, regret evident behind the words. "First day of being Mayor, I should probably grab a fresh suit and all. Maybe a shower. Wouldn't want people to make assumptions." She grinned, her eyes barely open as he stroked a thumb across her cheekbone._

_"Dining and dashing, Mr. Mayor? That is a federal offense… or something. Not that you like, ate me or anything." she mumbled it so softly, he was pretty certain she didn't even mean to say it out loud._

_He couldn't stop himself from barking out a laugh, which resulted with her squeezing her eyes shut, shaking her head in an attempt to take it back. Before she has the chance, his lips are back at her ear._

_"Another time," he whispered with a grin, and his amusement was only furthered as she blushed and turned to bury herself into her pillow, her eyes fluttering shut once again. _

_"I'll see you at the office?" he finally asked, but he didn't get a response as she pulled the down comforter up and over her head with a small grunt. He grudgingly pushed up from the bed and quietly dressed himself, moving to press a lingering kiss to her temple as she drifted back to sleep, before turning to leave the room, already eager for the next moment he would get to see her._

_…_

It is with fatigued reluctance that Oliver makes his way to the small cot in the far corner of the lair. For a long time, his mind is a vicious cycle of thoughts that do not allow for rest.

Sleep doesn't come, and instead, he is left grasping at his last memories of her. He tries to recreate how it felt to hold her in his arms as they moved around the dance floor that night. He tries to recall the scent that filled his car as they quietly drove through the rainy streets of Starling. He tries to remember the words that left her mouth before the impact of the truck, an unwelcome intruder, but his memory is fuzzy, and it only causes to irritate him when he can't perfectly reconstruct the last time he heard her voice.

Eventually, he tunes it all out, instead opting to listen to the murmuring of Sara and Diggle as they examine the computer screens. He focuses on the comfort of their voices, the subtle tones serving as hushed reassurances of safety and home and all the things he denies himself when she's not by his side.

When his eyelids begin to droop, he fights it at first, afraid of what a dark unconscious will bring, but at some point, the exhaustion wins, and he finds himself slowly slipping into state of inactive stillness, finally permitting his body to get the rest it needs.

…

_He watched her through his open door from across the room as she entered the office, a flurry of documents and smiles as she underwent interactions with various members of his team who were prepping him to be sworn in later that day. She looked beautiful in a bright blue shift dress and heels that made her legs look just about as good as they'd felt wrapped around him the night before, something he was no longer ashamed to appreciate. _

_He eventually caught her eye, but a pit formed in his stomach instantly when the upbeat smile fell from her face at the contact._

_His eyebrows cinched together in a mixture of confusion and worry, and he jerked his head in the direction of his office, a signal for her to join him. He observed as she hesitantly excused herself from the group of people, before walking in the direction of his office, her eyes on the ground, a look of concentration on her face. _

_He pushed up from his chair and moved to lean against the front of his desk, hands planted in his pockets, as she walked through the door, turning to carefully close it behind her before pivoting to face him. _

_Neither individual said anything, and there was a moment of stillness before either one felt comfortable to shift from their standstill. After a moment, Oliver turned to reach for something on his desk, and when he held it out to Felicity, she was confronted with a cup of coffee from her favorite shop._

_Finally, her postured eased, and a small smile crossed her face, not one of adoration but instead, a show of amusement._

_"You got me coffee," she scoffed, quirking an eyebrow while cautiously reaching out to grab the cup, a look of irritation crossing her face when he pulled it from her reach._

_"Nope." He said, a lighthearted smile tugging at his lips. "No coffee for you until you tell me what the face was out there with the nervous eyes and the fidgety hands."_

_She squinted her eyes at him before dropping her arm back to her side with a slight huff, averting her gaze to the floor._

_"I don't know," she mumbled._

_"Felicity…" He warned, wary that she wasn't comfortable with opening up to him after everything. "What changed since this morning? I thought… I thought we were good."_

_"I don't know," she repeated, but this time it was with a blush and a small smile. "I just, is this weird? This is weird, isn't it? Us, I mean. Last night, it was…"_

_"Amazing," Oliver said, his words intent and true._

_"_Fast_," Felicity amended, a challenging look in her eyes. "And I'm not saying that I, like, take it back or anything, cause it definitely wasn't a mistake and I know that, but then it hit me while I was getting ready this morning that we sort of jumped from point A to point Z with no regard for the stuff that happens in between. And I…I don't just want the fast stuff. I want the slow stuff to. And I want to make sure that you want the slow stuff like _I_ want the slow stuff, because it would really suck if our pacing was off on this when we finally figured things out." She hadn't realized that she had begun mildly pacing in front of him, while he observed her, marveling at the stark contrast that existed between his dark past and his potentially bright future, a careful karma that he would fight against the universe to keep in his favor, to keep her on his side when all was said and done._

_"Does that even make sense?" she asked with a maddening storm in her eyes, snapping his attention back to the present. _

_Her eyes were searching his, a dance of words that neither one was ready to voice, so instead, he extended the cup of coffee in her direction, and as she tentatively reached for it, he leaned in, an intimate gesture that didn't quite suit the public space._

_"Can I cook you dinner?" He asked, and he intended for it to be light and playful, but instead the question held a weight, a responsibility for establishing what their relationship could mean moving forward._

_She was back to searching his features, and it almost scared him how easily she was able to see what no one else could. Almost._

_Whatever she had been looking for, a flood of relief overcame him when he was deemed worthy of living up to it, because it was just a beat before she was nodding with a small smile, looking down to toy with the lid of the coffee cup._

_He felt… prideful as he moved past her, a casual interaction to anyone who did not know the significance of their circumstance. _

_"But Oliver," she said right before he left the room, and his heart dropped at the words. The grin on her face did away with the worry though, as he looked back at her over his shoulder. "As the one person who is intimately aware of your schedule… _both_ of them, it's my duty to remind you that it's kind of a busy week. You know, crazy vigilante lifestyle along with being a newly elected Mayor... So maybe not until Friday?"_

_His heart swelled as he eagerly nodded back at her. "Yeah," he said with resolution. "Friday it is."_

_It killed him to know that they had made so much progress only to put off pursuing what that meant, but he also knew this was necessary. They needed the time to do this right, and if that meant having to wait five days before he got to hold her in his arms again, then he would patiently wait, grateful at the prospect of ever having the privilege of holding her in his arms at all._

_…_

Oliver's sleep on the corner cot is fitful and full of terrors. It's like returning to an old habit after a long time of ignoring that such a trait even held a place in his life. She had always served as his own personal dream catcher, and her absence becomes the most blatant it's been since he lost her as he struggles with his nightmares.

It's a blur of green trees and dark computer pixels, his old demons colliding with the new, a lightening fast pace of past and present, a relentless beast. One minute it's Shado bleeding on the floor of the forest, and the next it's Felicity bleeding in a cold trunk all alone, all of his most horrific experiences culminating into one.

He knows at some point someone is trying to wake him, and the external stimuli reminds him that these are just dreams, even if they emulate reality in a scarily vivid display. Slowly he allows soothing strokes on his back to ease him back into sleep. After that, a different kind of torture ensues.

She's everywhere, on his skin, in his arms, tangled together in a bed, trailing hands and whispered secrets. Her presence overwhelms him, but he welcomes the suffering, the teasing of having her just out of his reach. He needs it.

He wants this to be their forever, in this perfect, protected sanctuary, where they only need to worry about each other. He yearns for this alternate reality, and as he is drawn back into a world that is far less black and white, he catalogues every single memory that it brings forth, every moment they've has together that allows him to believe in the possibility of them achieving such careless bliss.

He wants to fight for it, all of it. He wants to fight for a chance for them to get back to where they were before any of this, to get beck to the future that they were in the middle of building together. He'll do anything he needs in order for that to happen. He'll do anything for her.

…

_The week passed slowly with the anticipation of what would come at the end. Fortunately, both individuals had their hands full with various activities to help keep their minds off of the fact that they would much rather be spending their time elsewhere. Oliver's first week as Mayor was as hectic as could be expected. The first day ended up being one of the easiest considering he just had to be sworn into office, but the rest of the week was an exhausting whirlwind. There had been hours of press conferences and meetings to establish the basis of his stance as a leader of the city. He also had spent a good chunk of time fighting with his security team. It took a while to convince them that, during his free time, he would only require the protection of Mr. Diggle. They finally gave in, a relief considering it would make it a hell of a lot easier to run around with a hood on if he wasn't being tailed by two hulking men in black suits._

_By Wednesday night, his work had become a repetitive cycle. He woke up, went to the office and stayed past dinner. Then, it was off to the lair to get suited up. They'd been dealing with smaller crimes lately while tracking a more illusive criminal, a man who had been running the operation of trafficking young women in the Glades. They had just been learning his methods and habits, but he was a transient man, never sticking to the same clients, making it difficult for them to get a substantial, relevant lead._

_In the midst of it all, Oliver hadn't been able to stop himself from observing her. Moving around the office like a hummingbird, sitting quietly in the lair at her computers, studying her screens with intent. Her beauty stunned him and he found it difficult to focus when she was always there, so close and yet just out of his reach, a tantalizing torture._

_They had a silent agreement to not mention the events from earlier that week to either of their team members, not wanting to complicate anything before they got the chance to figure things out for themselves. Unfortunately, that didn't stop Roy from coughing loudly when Oliver's hand drifted from her chair to the middle of her back as they worked to develop strategies each night. It also didn't stop Diggle from eyeing him in the rearview mirror when Oliver insisted that they start driving her home, each night the 'goodbye' becoming even more strained and unbearable, eyes lingering until the moment she closed the door._

_On Thursday, Oliver couldn't handle it anymore. He took her off guard, pulling her into a private conference room that was similar to the one they had stood in together on the night of the election. She was stiff and uncertain until she realized it was just him, and he gained a ridiculous amount of satisfaction watching her relax against the door, happy that his presence was a calming one._

_"Hi," he said while placing one hand on the door above her shoulder, trapping her._

_She beamed up at him while warily checking to ensure that no one could see them in the enclosed room._

_"I missed you," he said, his lips brushing the shell of her ear before working a trail down her neck._

_She giggled, grabbing his hand that was fisted on her hip, gently soothing the restraint until their fingers were entwined._

_"We have literally been spending almost every moment together for the past 4 days," she chuckled. He shook his face against her clavicle in disagreement before lifting his head so their eyes could meet._

_"No, I missed _you." _He repeated, but with a more meaningful emphasis. At the words, her eyebrows knit together and her lips formed a lovely 'o' that was so beautiful, he couldn't stop himself from leaning in to kiss it away. She folded into him briefly, shuddering as he ran his tongue across her lower lip. It was when he pressed her further into the door, his hands flexing on her waist, that she broke away, a teasing glint in her eyes._

_"Nope," she said and he whimpered as she untangled herself from him. "I'm so not doing the whole office hookup thing, no sir, this is a hands off zone. People at QC already thought we were sleeping together, the last thing I need is everyone in the city making the assumption that I'm having an affair with the Mayor."_

_He smiled at her while stuffing his hands in his pockets._

_"Felicity, it's not an affair if you're the only woman I'm seeing."_

_"Right…" she said to herself, and it genuinely troubled him that this was not a concept she was blatantly aware of at this point. "Regardless, no office shenanigans. I've seen the lengths of your self-control, and I know perfectly well that you're able to keep your hands to yourself."_

_She turned towards the door just about to leave the room._

_"Until tomorrow night?" He asked, mirroring the teasing glint that he had seen playing in her eyes just moments earlier._

_She didn't reply, instead just barely looking over her shoulder, her head shaking in amusement with a blush on her cheeks._

_"You're trouble, Oliver Queen," were her last words, before she opened the door and crossed the threshold back into reality._

_He took a moment to calm himself before following after her, calculating the hours until Friday night._

_…_

He awakes feeling like he's been working on the same math problem for years, like his troubles will never end. Like there is no solution.

As he stretches his muscles and pushes himself into a sitting position, his attention is drawn to the sound of an alert from one of the computers and mumbled voices.

He stands up and wipes the sleep from his eyes. His unconscious had not been a restful one, but it had been restorative, and it serves to clear the defeated fog from his mind and body, instilling a new sense of purpose, strength, and motivation.

"What do we got?" he asks, approaching Digg and Sara who are in the same place by the computers that he saw them last.

"Eat," Diggle says, shoving a bagel in his direction without so much as a glance, his eyes still roaming the screens. Oliver takes the bagel and bites off a decent chunk, suddenly realizing how hungry he is.

"Happy?" he asks, the words muffled from the food he's chewing. "Now, what do we have? And… Where did Roy go?" he adds on, his eyes wandering around the lair that shows no sign of a red hoodie or the man that occupies it.

"I sent Roy home to rest so that he can keep an eye on things later today." Oliver nods, taking another healthy bite from the bagel, waiting for Diggle to continue. "We got a hit… but it's not on Felicity," Digg says, the apprehension is his voice apparent.

"What do you mean?" Oliver asks confused and wary of the statement.

"It's a hit on an alert that Felicity set up a while back… One for Aaron Wells? " Sara is speaking methodically, oblivious to the history that lies behind the statement she's making. It's when Oliver looks to Diggle that an understanding is established, their eyes communicating that they both remember the last time they interacted with this man.

"Aaron Wells…" Oliver chuckles bitterly while his mind flashes back months, and it doesn't take him long to recall every moment of their last encounter and the night that accompanied it. "Of course it's Aaron Wells."


End file.
